


The Muggleborn of Slytherin

by thebookprincess



Series: the Slytherin series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Evil, Firstyear, Friendship, Gen, HarryPotter - Freeform, Hogwarts, House - Freeform, Magic, Muggleborn, Slytherin, friend, friends - Freeform, hermionegranger - Freeform, mugglebornofslytherin, snake - Freeform, snape - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 00:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 25,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30080691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebookprincess/pseuds/thebookprincess
Summary: Everyone is shocked when Muggleborn Hermione Granger is sorted into Slytherin, no one more than Hermione herself. Taken under the wing of Jade Greengrass, and her classmates Daphne and Tracey, Hermione sets out to make a name for herself in Pureblood Society. With rules to memorize and parties to throw, Hermione navigates her way through her first year at Hogwarts.
Series: the Slytherin series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213202
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

September 1st, 1991

"Slytherin could be great for you, you know. It might be hard, but one day you'll thank me for this. SLYTHERIN!"

Hermione Granger took the Sorting Hat off her head and stared blankly at the completely silent hall.

A muggle-born? In Slytherin? What had just happened?

Slowly, Hermione got off the stool, handed the Hat to the stunned Deputy Headmistress, and walked on shaky legs to the table on the far right. She looked around desperately for a place to sit, as groups of friends had bunched together as she approached. Hermione cautiously sat down to a brunette first year that she thought was named Stacey or Lacey.

An older boy hissed at her, and another coughed something that sounded suspiciously like 'mudblood'.

Hermione held her head high and refused to cry. No, she would not cry. Not here, anyway.

"Greengrass, Daphne!"

"Slytherin!"

Everyone cheered.

Hermione turned her head away to stare intently at one of floating candles, only taking note that her new friends from the train were sorted into Gryffindor.

No one spoke to her during the feast. Draco Malfoy, who she had met briefly on the train, spent the majority of the meal bragging about his manor, his father, his broomstick, his gold, his father, his summer home, and everything else he had. And of course his father.

While making herself take bites of her shepherd's pie, Hermione mentally noted the other kids in her year. There were 10 first year Slytherins, and they all seemed to vary on the power scale.

Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were like the snobby prep kids she had been bullied by in her old school. Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe were the brutish thugs who were good for muscle and little else. Blaise Zabini seemed like a natural flirt, while Theodore Nott seemed like a loner who preferred to be by himself. Millicent Bulstrode and Tracey (not Stacey or Lacey) Davis she wasn't so sure of yet. Daphne Greengrass was the real enigma. She spoke a little with Tracey and Blaise, and otherwise alternated between eating her dinner and sending cutting remarks to where Draco and Pansy were sitting a bit closer to the second years, chatting loudly.

After the feast, a prefect led them all to the common room. If Hermione hadn't been about to burst into tears, she would have appreciated the wall that faded when given a password, and the view of the lake from inside the common room.

The whole room had a greenish tint, thanks to the large windows that encompassed one of the walls and gave the Slytherin a good look into the bottom of the lake. Elegant looking armchairs and loungers were dotted around the room, with a few portraits lining one of the walls. It all looked very expensive, but judging by Draco's sniff of approval, this was what all of her classmates were used to.

"Welcome to Slytherin," a girl said, drawing Hermione's attention from where it was focused on her shoes. "My name is Gemma Farley, and I'm one of the fifth year prefects. This is Adrian Pucey, your other prefect." Adrian nodded in acknowledgement, but otherwise stayed silent. Gemma fixed the first years with a intimidating stare. "Slytherins are hated by the other three houses. We have a reputation of being the 'dark' house, and all of us are either dark lords or death eaters. For this reason, we have a few rules we expect you all to follow. Jade?"

A blonde girl with sapphire eyes stepped forwards. "I am Jade Greengrass," she began, "Last year, I made prefect. Next year, I will be Head Girl. I am the top of my year, and this will continue. Why? Because I want it. I am a Slytherin. I am in the house of cunning and ambition, and I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goals."

She swept her gaze over to the first years. Davis looked down, Crabbe and Goyle weren't even paying attention, Nott and Zabini stood coolly, Bulstrode froze, Malfoy and Parkinson looked away, and Greengrass nodded silently. When Jade's eyes turned to Hermione, she looked up and met her gaze.

Jade smirked, giving Hermione an impressed look. "Rule one, you will do whatever it takes to be the best. Isn't that right, Flint?" Jade turned to look at a burly sixth year, who nodded frantically. "Two - Slytherins are always united. I don't care what happens in here, but when you're out of the common room we stand together at all times. And third, don't get caught. I don't care what you do, but if you get caught doing it, I, and Professor Snape, will be very displeased." Jade paused for a second, her hand going up to touch her headpiece that looked like a small tiara, if one was looking closely. She then gave a small smile. "Welcome to Slytherin."

"Okay!" Adrian Pucey spoke for the first time, clapping his hands. "Dormitories are up the steps! Girls to the left with Gemma, boys with me."

As Hermione turned to follow Gemma, she noticed Jade settling down on a couch by the firepit, a group of older students gathered around her. The burly boy Jade had nodded towards earlier was holding court by one of the walls, jabbing furiously at a paper.

With one last glance at the Slytherins, Hermione headed upstairs to the dorms.

By the time Hermione arrived, the other four girls had chosen their beds. Pansy had the bed by the door, Millicent next to her, Daphne next to the bathroom, and Tracey on the other side. Hermione silently walked to the empty bed, which was opposite from Pansy.

"So Mudblood, how'd you end up in Slytherin?" Pansy sneered.

Hermione turned to look at the brunette, who looked somewhat like a pug. She turned to face the center of the dormroom, surveying her roommates.

Pansy had a pug face, brown eyes and short bobbed hair. With her arms crossed, she looked like one of those Queen Bees Hermione had encountered in primary school. Millicent hovered slightly behind Pansy, her black hair lying limply down her back. She had a larger build than the rest of the girls, and dark brown eyes. Daphne was sitting on her bed, pretending to be immersed in her unpacking. She had pretty blonde hair that was in soft curls and ice blue eyes. Tracey stood between her bed and Daphne's, trying to make it look like she wasn't listening, but was not as successful as Daphne. She had light brown hair, freckles, and hazel eyes that flickered between Hermione and Pansy.

"Well, Granger?" Pansy prompted. She raked her eyes over Hermione's body and sneered.

Hermione lifted her chin. "The sorting hat said 'Slytherin'. That's how I got into Slytherin," she shrugged.

Tracey snorted, before disguising it as a cough. Pansy glanced over at her for a second, before turning dismissively back to Hermione

"Yes, but you're a mudblood. You don't belong here!" Pansy insisted.

Hermione smiled slightly. "And that is where you're wrong." With that, she turned and pulled the covers around herself.

She wouldn't emerge for the rest of the night.


	2. September 2, 1991

September 2, 1991

Hermione woke up the next morning at a little past six, and unable to sleep any longer, she got dressed quietly, making sure not to wake any of her roommates up. She sat on her bed and tried to read her Potions textbook, but the dark light made the task impossible, so she crept downstairs, taking a tentative seat by the fire. Hermione curled her legs under her and happily began reading again.

"You're in Jade's seat," a bossy tone said.

Hermione looked up in surprise to see a dark-haired girl standing above her, hands on her hips. "Excuse me?"

"You're in Jade's seat," the girl repeated, flicking a piece of hair off her shoulder.

"I didn't know the seats belong to anyone?" Hermione tried, but it came out more as a question.

"Yes, well, the Court always gets the best seats, and that one's Jade's," the girl said haughtily.

"Relax, Lillian," the cool voice of Jade Greengrass came. The elder girl walked down the stairs and over to the fire, staring down at Hermione with piercing eyes. Hermione stood up hastily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know there were specific seats for specific people," she babbled. "I'm sorry." She turned to walk back upstairs.

"Sit," Jade stopped her, waving at a cushion a few inches away. Hermione sat down cautiously; Jade's eyes boring into hers. "Lillian, go."

The newly identified Lillian scrambled to run away, dashing back up to the steps of the girl's dormitories.

"Why am I here?" Hermione asked after a minute of silence.

"Never ask," Jade responded. "Always observe, and find out the answers yourself. Never settle for anything but the best, and don't trust that everything is as it appears. Don't ever agree to do something for someone without a fair deal."

"Um, okay?"

"If you want to sit here again, you may," Jade said, motioning to the very comfy pillow Hermione was on. "As you grow older, you can move up in the ranks."

"What are the ranks?" Hermione asked curiously.

Jade didn't respond. Instead, she got up and took a book out of her bookbag, handing the slim volume to the first year. "Read this. And once you're finished, come find me again."

Hermione nodded eagerly and looked down at the book, and when she looked back up, Jade was gone. Deciding it would be best not to read the book out in the open, she carefully tucked it in her own bag and opened her Potions textbook again.

"Smart," a bright voice said a few minutes later, the owner's footsteps coming to a stop in front of the reading girl.

"Oh, good morning Tracey," Hermione said politely, looking up from her book. Daphne Greengrass came to a stop next to the brunette, a calculating expression on her face. "Good morning Daphne."

Daphne waved off her words. "Come back upstairs with us. If we are to get you to look decent, we need all the time we can get." With that, she turned and marched up the stairs sharply.

Hermione looked at Tracey in surprise, but she just muttered, "Just roll with it," before following the other girl. Hermione rushed to put her book away and head upstairs to the first year girls dorm, finding Daphne and Tracey in the bathroom.

"Sit," Daphne ordered, sounding very much like Jade. "Tracey, grab one of your spare uniforms. They'll fit better and have to do until we can order others."

"What's wrong with my uniform?" Hermione demanded.

Daphne gave her a cursory look. "There are different cuts and styles and fabrics," she explained. "You have the most basic one. If you want people to treat you with respect, you have to look the part."

"Oh. That makes sense," Hermione said as Daphne handed her a small jar. "What's this?"

"This will take away some of the frizz from your hair," the blonde said. "Actually, never mind. Do you take quick showers?" Hermione nodded. "Then take one and use this," she handed her a blue bottle. "It's a more general one, but it should work until you have a chance to go in for your own."

Hermione looked helplessly at Tracey, who just shrugged, so she listened to Daphne. Ten minutes later, she was out and dressed in her uniform, pulling the robe on. She walked back into the main bathroom to hear Tracey looking at herself critically in the mirror.

"I wish I could cover this up," she complained, pointing to a spot on her chin.

"Did you forget your concealer or something?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed.

"What's concealer?" Tracey asked, clearly confused.

"I've never heard of it either," Daphne chimed in.

"It's makeup," Hermione tried to explain. "You can use it to make yourself more beautiful."

Two pairs of eyes gleamed. "Do you have any of this 'make-up'?" Daphne asked, testing the word on her tongue.

Hermione nodded. Her mother had made her bring some, in case the girls at Hogwarts were as beauty obsessed as the girls at Primary. "A little. I'll go get it."

She came back a second later with a few jars and tubes that seemed foreign to the other girls. Tracey picked up a light green one and examined it. "What's this?"

"Oh that's filled with make up remover pads," Hermione told her. "To take off the makeup." She motioned for the brunette to sit in the chair she herself had sat in earlier. Tracey sat down quickly, almost bouncing in her seat.

Hermione carefully applied concealer and a little powder over Tracey's face, debating whether to do a bit more. In the end, she decided against, saying, "Some of these it's best not to share," she explained, holding up a mascara tube.

"How do I get my own?" Daphne asked her, eying the makeup greedily.

"I can order it for you," Hermione offered. Daphne frowned a little, and Hermione realized her mistake. "In exchange for you helping me with the magical stuff."

Daphne nodded approvingly. "Good. Please call me Daphne," she offered. "I think we're going to be great friends," she gave the other girl a small grin before sitting down in the chair herself. Hermione smiled slightly as she took out a pale pink lip gloss.

_Friends._


	3. September 2, 1991 PART TWO

September 2, 1991

It was a bit before eight when Daphne and Tracey finished primping themselves, and the vintage-looking clocks had just chimed when they had tugged at every inch of a pouting Hermione's hair. She might have wanted to look decent, but having every strand pulled and prodded was pushing her limit.

"Okay, we're done," Tracey said, a hint of roundness seeping into her voice.

Hermione stood up cautiously and peered into the mirror, almost gasping at her reflection. "Is-is that me?" she stammered, reaching up to touch her hair lightly.

"Don't touch it," Tracey squealed, slapping Hermione's hair away. Daphne said nothing, instead choosing to apply another layer of one of Hermione's lip glosses.

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly. "It means a lot."

At primary school, she had been mocked multiple times for her bushy hair and buck teeth, the queen bees teasing her endlessly. For two people to help her with that, even if she was pretty sure that one was just doing it under orders, meant a lot to her.

"You need to learn to hide your emotions," Daphne said sternly, before her face softened a little. "But you're welcome." Tracey beamed at Hermione, who grinned back. "Now let's get going, Jade will be waiting."

"Are you two related? You look alike?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Jade is my elder sister," Daphne agreed. She twisted a strand of hair behind her ear and led the way out of the bathroom. Hermione and Tracey trailed behind.

"Oh look, it's the Mudblood," Pansy sneered, her nose scrunching up in an expression of disgust. "You haven't been kicked out yet?"

"Why would I be kicked out?" Hermione questioned, genuinely curious about the answer.

"No muggles in Hogwarts, Granger," Pansy smirked.

"Whatever you say, Pansy," Hermione said lightly, purposefully using Pansy's first name.

"Let's go," Tracey said sharply, glaring at Pansy. Daphne, Tracey and Hermione each grabbed their leather satchels and left the room, leaving a fuming Pansy behind.

"Daphne," Jade called out to the trio. "Come here, I'd like to introduce you to some people."

"Good morning, Jade," Daphne greeted her older sister. "How are you today?"

"Lovely, and you?" Jade responded.

"Quite good, thanks," Daphne said just as elegantly. "Although I do believe a prank may have gone awry. Would you mind taking a look at Hermione's teeth?"

"My teeth?" Hermione asked, running her tongue over her larger-than-normal teeth.

"You're right," Jade nodded. "Here, Rhea's training to be a healer, she can help."

A tall girl with brunette waves down to her waist stood up. "Hold on a second, Granger." She murmured something under her breath and flicked her wand.

"Here," another girl offered, handing Hermione a small hand mirror bedazzled with colored jewels. Hermione had no doubt that they were real.

"Wow," she breathed. "My teeth! They're smaller!"

Rhea smirked. "I don't botch spells on purpose, Granger."

"No, no," Hermione said hurriedly. "I just didn't think that magic could do...that."

"Magic can do anything, Hermione," Jade lectured. "'Anything' is just left up to you." Hermione swallowed and nodded. "Now, you girls better run off to breakfast, we'll be along shortly."

Daphne nodded and motioned for the first year girls to go. Hermione waited for them to exit the common room before asking, "Who were the other girls?"

Daphne shot a quick glance at her. "Rhea Rosier was the one to fix your teeth, she's training to be a healer. She's also Jade's second in command," she offered. "The one with the mirror is Julianne Blackthorn, from a lesser pureblood family. Jade genuinely likes her though, not to mention she's a prodigy in Transfiguration. Gemma Farley, I'm sure you recognize from last night, and then there's Lilian Travers and Aimee Brodeur, both who like to pretend they have more power than they actually do. Brodeur is really just Travers' sidekick, though. Has no mind of her own, but she does have great connections. She and Gemma are the only fifth years Jade allows though, although Brodeur is more political than actual friendship. She's from France, you see," Daphne explained at Hermione's questioning glance.

"Oh," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I think I met Lilian this morning. She tried to kick me out of one of the chairs, but Jade stopped her."

Tracey turned to stare at her. "And what did Jade do?"

"Told her to go away," Hermione said. She fiddled with the strap of her bag, trying to ignore the fact that both Daphne and Tracey had just shot her a sharp look.

"Interesting," Daphne mused as they reached the doors to the Great Hall.

Together, the three girls entered the hall, Daphne in middle, and Hermione and Tracey flanking her. This time, they took seats closer to the middle of the table, a few seats away from where Gemma Farley was sitting. The older girl nodded to the three first years, before going back to her hushed conversation with a boy sitting across from her.

"That's Miles Bletchley," Daphne said quietly. "It's rumored that they're contracted."

Tracey nodded and returned to her breakfast, although Hermione narrowed her eyes in confusion. She brushed it off, however, and picked up her cup. "Do you know when we're getting our schedules?"

"Should be any minute," Tracey answered, her hair falling over her face as she bent over to take a bite. "Professor Snape should be coming around any minute."

True to Tracey's word, their Head of House arrived a few moments later. "Miss Greengrass. Miss Davis. Miss Granger. I look forwards to have you three in my Potions class," he said briskly, before sweeping away to where Pansy was sitting with Millicent and some of the boys a bit further down at the table.

"Ooh, we have Charms first," Tracey squealed. "Professor Flitwick is said to be one of the best teachers at Hogwarts."

"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, leaning forwards slightly.

Tracey frowned. "Well, he has a reputation as the scariest teacher at Hogwarts," she offered. "He's an incredible Potions expert, but he's not the greatest at conveying his words to children," Tracey said slowly.

Hermione nodded, her mind lost in thought. If he wasn't a good teacher, then why was he here? "And the other teachers?"

"McGonagall is strict, but supposedly fair," Blaise Zabini said, sitting down next to Hermione with a wink. "Good morning ladies."

"Good morning," Hermione murmured quietly, lowering her eyes from the dark-skinned Slytherin. With chocolate brown curls and deep blue eyes, he looked like someone that the girls back at home would fangirl over, if he was a couple years older.

"Binns' class is pointless," Daphne chimed in. "He's a ghost. No one pays attention."

"So then how do you pass the exams?" Hermione asked, horrified.

Daphne shrugged. "Textbook? Older students. I honestly don't care, it's not like I'm going to be doing anything in the future that I'll need History of Magic for," she shared a smirk with Tracey.

Hermione looked between Daphne and Tracey, sure that some secret exchange had passed between the two friends. She turned to Blaise and asked, "What are you looking forwards to?"

"Astronomy and Potions," Blaise replied. "And Runes, but we can't take that until third year."

"We should start heading to class," Tracey cut in. "Charms starts in fifteen minutes and we don't know where to go."

"I'm sure one of the older girls will show us," Daphne said dismissively.

Tracey's face fell slightly. "Oh, okay."

Sure enough, a girl with strawberry blond hair approached them a few minutes later. "Miss Greengrass? Jade sent me to show you the way to your first class."

"Thank you," Daphne trailed off, looking at the older girl expectantly.

"Charlotte. Charlotte Avery," the girl said.

"Lead the way then, Charlotte," Blaise said with a charming grin. Hermione resisted the urge to swoon dramatically, feeling that the Slytherins wouldn't appreciate her theatrics. Instead she followed a smug Daphne, downcast Tracey, flirty Blaise and the giggly Charlotte to her first real class in magic.


	4. September 4, 1991

September 4, 1991

It was safe to say that Hermione had never really experienced prejudice before. Sure, there were a lot of petty children teasing her about her appearance, but Hermione could just ignore them. She lived in a small town, where everyone knew each other. Her parents owned the only dentist, and were very well respected. She had grown up in a lovely home, in a popular neighborhood, and a giant public library to which she could escape to anytime one of the girls started being mean.

But at Hogwarts? Hermione had been sneered at just as much as any other first year. She wasn't singled out to her her blood status (no, that was only in the common room), or because of her appearance (which looked like every other Slytherin first year girl, thanks to Daphne and Tracey), but rather, the color of her tie. In Transfiguration, which was shared with the Hufflepuffs, Hermione had overheard Professor McGonagall giving five points to one of the girls for turning their matchstick silver. By the time Professor McGonagall had made her way to the Slytherin side, Hermione was sitting quietly with her fully transformed needle lying on the desk.

"Two points to Slytherin," Professor McGonagall had said.

And if the teachers behaved that way, then what did it say for the students? Gryffindors glared at her in the hallways, Hufflepuffs screamed whenever a Slytherin came near, and even the Ravenclaws would move their books so she couldn't sit next to them in the library. She had seen two redhead Gryffindors ganging up on a small Hufflepuff boy yesterday, and the very same Gryffindors sneaking around the dungeons when she had run back to grab one of her textbooks. According to Daphne, they had a reputation as the school's pranksters. And to think, she was only on the third day of school.

Hermione yawned and sleepily got out of her cozy bed, walking to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stripped off her pajamas, before stepping in and sighing under the hot water pressure. She could hear noises from the dorm, likely Tracey or Daphne waking up. Pansy refused to wake up a second earlier than necessary, and it seemed Millicent followed along with everything Pansy did.

"Morning," Tracey murdered when she shuffled into the bathroom a few minutes later.

"Good morning," Hermione replied cheerily. She grinned at Daphne, who had yet to say anything and had instead just made her way into the shower area.

"Daph's not a morning person," Tracey whispered to Hermione.

"I heard that!" Daphne yelled, sounding slightly distorted due to the door separating them. Tracey promptly shouted back a rude word.

"Tracey!" Hermione gasped, horrified. The girl just shot her a cheeky grin before reaching out and snatching one of Hermione's lip glosses.

The Hogwarts library was undeniably Hermione's new favorite place on Earth. With rows of neatly stacked books, written about all different areas of magic, Hermione was ready to jump for joy. She had come here straight after classes, ready to start her Transfiguration essay. Professor Flitwick, who was as good as a teacher as the rumors claimed, hadn't given them any homework, but her other teachers had piled it on. In addition to the Transfiguration essay, Hermione had to fill out a chart on different plants for Herbology, read two chapters in her DADA textbook, and she wanted to get a head start on her History of Magic essay, even if it was due in a couple of months. She was going to be the best at magic, no matter what it took.

With that in mind, Hermione set about finding the Transfiguration section, where she plucked a heavy book off the shelves and took it back to her desk. She had just opened the book when someone, or more accurately, two someones, plucked themselves down next to her.

"You need to order your new robes," Daphne announced immediately, covering Hermione's new book with a fashion catalog.

"I'm working," Hermione said. "Can't I do that later?"

"No, you cannot," Daphne said primly. "This is of the utmost importance."

Hermione sighed, turning to face the blonde. "Look, Daphne, I really appreciate you helping me, but I don't really get how new clothes can make people accept me. I'm a muggleborn, and I always will be. And honestly, I don't really care that much about clothes. Isn't learning magic more important?"

Daphne stared at her in shock. "Granger-Hermione," she corrected herself, "you did not grow up in the Pureblood Society as we all did. We have our own rules, our own culture, and we're all really proud of it. Look, if you went to France, would you tell them how to live their life? That just because something is done in England, that's the way it should be done in France?"

"No, of course not!" Hermione exclaimed, affronted. "France is a different country. They have their own laws."

Daphne nodded. "You need to think of the Wizarding World as a new country, then. Pureblood Society, well, you have a really big social advantage if you're accepted into it. It's mostly Slytherins, but even some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, and occasionally the odd Gryffindor, follow the Old Ways. Everyone who's everyone is in Society. That's why people take so much pride in blood and heritage. Dumbledore...he and people like the Weasleys want to want to eliminate our Society. They want us to take on muggle culture and all their traditions. Anyone who embraces muggle ways, like the Weasleys, are considered traitors to our heritage and our culture. Even the smallest thing can see you turned away"

"So it's important that I blend in, right?" Hermione asked slowly, absorbing the new information.

"For now, yes," Daphne nodded. "Here, Hermione, I'll make you a deal. The Malfoys throw a Yule Ball every year. It's very selective, and can really give you a leg up if you attend. We go every year because Narcissa is good friends with Mother. If you let me turn you into the perfect Pureblood princess, I guarantee that everyone will be treating you like you belong."

"And if people recognize me as a muggleborn, then you have to let me do what I want," Hermione challenged.

"Deal," Daphne accepted. The two girls shook hands, and Hermione picked up the catalog.

"Where do we begin?"


	5. September 12, 1991

September 12, 1991

Hermione tapped her quill against her cheek, frowning slightly at the parchment lying in front of her. She was sitting on her bed, trying to think of a good topic for her History essay. Originally, she had been trying to work in the common room, but Lilian Travers had kept sending her glares so she decided to move to upstairs. Deciding to go with Morgana, Hermione nodded determinedly to herself before inking her quill.

"Hermione!" Tracey cried, running into the dorm. "It's here!"

Hermione looked up from her essay. "What's here?" she asked her friend.

Tracey sighed loudly. "The new dress catalog from France, remember?"

"Yeah, it's all you've been talking about this week," Hermione teased lightly. "So why do we have to do this now?"

"Jade agreed to help us pick out dresses," Tracey said, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Oh, then of course let's drop everything else! Nothing is more important!" Hermione said in a high voice.

Tracey beamed at her. "I knew you'd see it my way!" she exclaimed, before leaping forwards and grabbing hold of Hermione's arm. "Now come on, she's waiting for us in her room."

"Okay, okay," Hermione said, laughing. She carefully set her homework on her desk and looked around, making sure everything was put away. "I'm ready."

"Good!" Tracey clapped her hands before bouncing off from her position on Hermione's bed. She dashed out of the room, Hermione following close behind.

The two girls made their way to the sixth floor. Apparently, fifth, sixth and seventh years got their own rooms, to help them study for the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, and Jade was no exception.

Jade wasn't alone when the two first years walked into the room. Rhea Rosier was poring over a magazine, lying on top of Jade's bed. Daphne, as expected, was present, and was sitting on the floor, leaning against a fluffy chair. Jade was sitting at the desk, marking something down on a parchment, but she turned as the two girls entered nervously.

"Welcome," Rhea said warmly. She smiled at the two younger girls.

"Hi," Hermione said quietly. Tracey just waved.

"Okay, so dresses," Daphne said impatiently, clapping her hands. "Come on, I've been waiting for this catalog for like, forever!"

Jade laughed at her sister, but obliged, sitting down next to Rhea on the bed. "Have you all decided on colors yet?"

"Yes," Daphne and Tracey said at once.

"I didn't know about this until 30 seconds ago," Hermione offered sheepishly when all four girls turned to look at her.

"She's young enough to get away with white, I think," Rhea mused. "Or maybe blue?"

"I'm thinking blue," Jade agreed. "Pale blue, maybe with a darker sash."

Two hours later, a frustrated Hermione was lying on Jade's bed, her arms over her head as Daphne and Tracey argued over the dresses. "This is pointless," she moaned to herself.

"What's pointless?" Rhea asked curiously, sitting next to Hermione.

Hermione sat up and turned to look at the older girl. "Oh. I guess just picking out clothes in general," she said after a minute. "Is it really that important what I wear?"

"Well, think of it this way. You wouldn't go to class in your pajamas, would you?" Rhea asked.

"No," Hermione shook her head. "But that's different."

"Is it?" Rhea smiled lightly. "You're dressing appropriately for the occasion. Hermione, people judge based on looks. It's part of human nature; there's nothing we can do about it. What we can do is make sure that we look our best for the event."

Hermione looked down, fiddling with her hands. "But it just doesn't make sense," she confessed. "Why do looks matter so much?"

Rhea stared at her knowingly. "Hermione, how many people had judged you just because you're a Slytherin?"

Hermione thought about Professor McGonagall's class. "A few."

"Well there you have it," Rhea said. "There's no reason for it. You can be the most talented person in the world and still be discriminated against."

"I want to be the best," Hermione admitted. She glanced shyly at the brunette.

Rhea smiled. "I can tell."

~ Slytherin ~

It was only later that Daphne and Tracey finally relented and allowed Hermione to return to their room. She had picked out one dress, which had been ordered alongside the many that Jade, Daphne, Rhea, and to a lesser extent, Tracey, needed for the holiday season. Drawing her curtains closed, Hermione checked that no one was around and pulled out the small book Jade had given her.

_The Slytherin Hierarchy_

_As most purebloods are sorted into Slytherin, Slytherin adopts a lesser version of Society. At the top rules the Prince or Princess, typically the most connected and talented Slytherin. The Prince or Princess should surround themselves with trusted allies, otherwise known as their Court. The Court should be made up of the best that Slytherin has to offer. Following the Court are your everyday Slytherins, varying in levels of influence and power._

_Slytherins are not like the other Houses, in which everything is all fun and games. In Slytherin, you have to know the game to survive, lest you are branded as a Traitor to Slytherin and Society as a whole._

_How to 'play':_

_Actions can have consequences. Always think before acting, you're not a Gryffindor._

_Be approachable, but not desperate._

_Keep your Allies close and enemies closer._

_The most deadly Slytherin is one who watches from the shadows._

_If you must show prejudice, do it in private. Making scenes in public will not help with anything._

_Even the smallest person can have their importance. Never assume anything._

Hermione closed the book thoughtfully, memorizing the rules in her head.

She could do this. It was like playing poker, a game her father that taught her when she was young. He and his friends would play bi-weekly, and little Hermione would sit on his knee, curiously watching the game. She knew how to read tells, how to bluff, and how to find out what others were hiding.

She would learn how to dress and how to act, even if she herself deemed it insignificant and a waste of time. She would master the classwork, and be at the top of her class. Like a snake, she would hide in the shadows, and wait for the perfect moment to strike.

She would become the quintessential Slytherin, and rise above them all.


	6. September 19, 1991

September 19, 1991

Birthdays didn't mean much for Hermione. To her, it was just another regular day of the year, that just happened to have cupcakes. No cakes, of course. Hermione's parents were dentists, and while they would be relaxed about a sweet or two once in a while, cakes were pushing their limits.

So when her birthday rolled around, Hermione didn't really expect anything. She hadn't told her Slytherin friends, and her parents didn't have a way of sending anything to her.

Hermione was surprised, however, when a tawny owl fluttered in front of her at breakfast, a large package tied to its claw.

"Hey Granger," Pansy Parkinson called, "Got something from your parents? Well, besides your muddy blood of course."

Hermione ignored her, instead carefully untying the string. Tracey leaned over.

"Ooh, what'd you get?" she asked.

Hermione opened the package. Inside was a cupcake encased in a bakery box, a soft green scarf, some of the makeup she had asked her mother to send, and a small jewelry box. She showed Tracey the contents.

"Why'd you get a cupcake? Is it your birthday?" the ever-curious Tracey asked.

Hermione nodded. "My mom sent some of the makeup," she said quietly.

Tracey waved her hand dismissively. "It's your birthday? Why didn't you tell us?" she exclaimed.

"It's not a big deal," Hermione shrugged.

Daphne leaned over. "Are you eleven or twelve?"

"Twelve," Hermione responded. She picked up her fork and took a bite of her eggs.

"You're twelve?" Tracey asked incredulously

"Yeah, why?"

Daphne stood up from the table. "Tracey, explain. I have to go talk to Jade." She strode down to the other end of the table and began having a hushed conversation with her sister.

Hermione looked at Tracey expectantly. "Twelve is an important number in pureblood society," Tracey said quietly so everyone else couldn't hear. "It symbolizes growing up, because you've already started Hogwarts. Girls have their debut balls at twelve, and also become eligible for betrothal contracts. After seventeen, twelve is the most important birthday."

Hermione nodded slowly. "When's your birthday?"

"March 27," Tracey said. "Daphne's is February 3. We'll both have large parties in the summer, or in Daphne's case, probably over spring break."

Daphne returned then. "Hermione, over break, you need to plan a party."

"I'm sorry?"

"Hermione, over break, you need to plan a party," Daphne repeated. "If you don't have one, it'll be like you're ignoring tradition. It doesn't even have to be that big. Only three hundred guests."

"The hundred guests? Daphne, I don't even know three hundred people," Hermione protested.

Daphne shook her head. "Okay, then I'll take care of the guest list. You're muggleborn, so people won't expect you to know every little tradition, but you'll have to hit the big points."

"So it's like a bat mitzvah?" Hermione clarified.

"What's a bat mit-vuh?" Daphne asked, confused.

"Yes, it is," Tracey cut in. "Basically a bat mitzvah with a bunch of snobs."

"Tracey!" Daphne protested as Hermione nodded.

"Okay, I think I get it. But where could I hold it?"

"You can't use our houses," Daphne said thoughtfully. "Is your home big?"

"Not for a party," Hermione said. "But we do have a lovely beach house. What about an outdoor party?"

Daphne cocked her head for a minute, thinking. "That could work," she mused. "It's new and different, but then again, so are you."

"I'll take care of the outfits," Tracey jumped in. "Daphne, can you work on food and decor?"

"The elves will help with food," Daphne nodded. "Hermione, you'll work on a menu with me. Jade will get Julianne to help with the decorations, she's a genius at that. And once we get the guest list, we can send out invitations."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Alright then, let's plan a party!"

~ Slytherin ~

"Hermione," Jade Greengrass called later that day. The twelve year old had just stepped into the common room, and turned to face the older girl. "Come here for a second, will you?""

Hermione nodded and walked slowly to the fireplace, where Jade was lounging on a silky green chair. "Yeah?"

Jade reached into her leather bag and pulled out a small box. "For you," she said, handing the neatly wrapped box to Hermione.

Hermione looked down at the box for a second, then back up at Jade. "Um, should I open it?"

"I don't think the box can open itself," Jade said sarcastically. "Yes, open it."

Hermione nodded, carefully undoing the ribbon. She lifted the lid off the box to reveal a small silver chain bracelet. A green and silver heart charm dangled from one of the chain links, and a silver H dotted with little rhinestones was attached to another.

"It's beautiful," Hermione breathed. "Thank you."

Jade smirked smugly. "Like the diamonds?"

"Those are real?" Hermione's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"What else would they be?" Jade asked. Not waiting for an answer, she continued, "Also, from Daphne and Tracey," she handed Hermione two books. "One will teach you about colors and which ones go together, and the other is about Potions ingredients."

"Thank you Jade," Hermione said gratefully. "This is the best birthday I've ever had."

Jade looked at her closely for a minute, before shaking her head. "Just wait until you see the party that Daphne's halfway done planning already. But, you're welcome."

Hermione smiled at the older girl again, before rushing upstairs to put her presents away. She allowed herself to flop on top of her bed, reflecting on the day's events.

She didn't really want to have a big birthday party, but if it helped her fit in, so be it. And if she had to have one, then Auntie Beth's summer cottage was a really nice place, and Hermione had been hoping to go back soon. The beach would be nice at Christmas time, with its golden sand and sparkling ocean. She would just have to make sure that Daphne and Tracey didn't go overboard with all the planning.

But then again, lying on her bed, Hermione realized that she didn't mind it at all.


	7. October 1, 1991

October 1, 1991

Hermione flopped onto her bed, exhausted from a long day of classes. Professor Snape had decided to switch partners around in Potions, and she had spent the entire class trying to stop Lavender Brown from adding 'the pretty colors" to their shared cauldron. Honestly, it was a miracle she had made it out of the class alive. She did feel bad for Tracey, though. Anyone who was paired with Neville Longbottom was set to an automatic zero for the day, and it was a testament to Tracey's potions skills that she managed to scrape an 'acceptable'.

"Never again!" an angry Tracey fumed, stomping her way into the dorm, the other three girls close behind her. "That was the worst Potions class I've ever been in!"

"Why did Professor Snape switch around the partners, anyway?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Because Malfoy was unhappy and whined to his godfather," Tracey rolled her eyes, throwing her bag onto her bed.

Hermione shook her head. Draco had paired up with Crabbe at the beginning of the year, a pair which did not work well. Pansy and Millicent had joined forces, as did Daphne and Tracey. Theo Nott, a shy but hard worker had asked Hermione to partner with him, while Blaise and Goyle worked together, a pair that surprisingly worked. "Poor Theo," she murmured, thinking of Draco's chosen partner for the day. "Having to do double the work."

"Yeah, well so did us," Pansy pointed out. "Weasley refused to touch anything that I had gotten from the cabinet. He made me do nearly everything by myself."

"Including opening the textbook," Millicent snickered.

Tracey laughed. "You want Longbottom next time? We can switch."

"Merlin, no," Pansy shuddered.

"Potter wasn't so bad," Daphne offered. "He listened, but it's like he had never been near a cauldron before."

"Doubt anyone ever taught him the basic facts," Millicent remarked.

"Maybe I should, he's kind of cute," Daphne mused. "If only something could be done about that mop of hair on his head."

"The infamous Potter hair," Pansy joked. "Millie, you were like the only lucky one today."

"Getting Blaise? Definitely," Millicent agreed.

The girls lapsed into silence as they changed for bed, taking turns in the luxurious bathroom.

"So Hermione," Daphne said loudly when it was Tracey's turn, "have you started getting replies to your party?"

Hermione purposefully angled her body towards Daphne's. "A couple," she replied. "It's going to be pretty big, that's for sure."

"And what about the after-party?" Daphne pressed. "Any responses to those?"

Hermione tilted her head to the side, making a big show of thinking. "You know, I never sent out the exclusive ones. I should probably do that tomorrow."

"That would be good," Daphne nodded. "You know, Mother was talking to Narcissa Malfoy, and she mentioned that she was looking forwards to attending."

"Narcissa Malfoy?" Pansy gasped, giving up all pretenses of eavesdropping. "How did you get Narcissa Malfoy to agree to come?"

Hermione tossed a smirk in Pansy's direction. "Power knows power," she said casually.

Pansy gulped and Hermione grinned again. Daphne had told her about the Malfoys' refusal to attend the Parkinson's Yule party last year.

"My mum replied yesterday," came Millicent's soft voice. "We can come."

"Lovely," Hermione remarked, breezing past Pansy on her way to the bathroom. She entered and closed the door, reaching to turn on the shower. She heard Tracey and Daphne talking loudly outside about the upcoming party, about the 'scrumptious food', 'incredible entertainment', and 'gorgeous scenery'. Hermione stripped quickly and stepped into the shower, lathering strawberry red shampoo into her hair. She soaped her body as well, before rinsing herself clean and turning the shower off. Hermione wrapped herself in a towel and stepped into the main bathroom, nodding at Millicent who was brushing her teeth.

"Hey," Millicent said quietly as Hermione's hand reached the doorknob.

Hermione turned to face her classmate. "Hmm?"

"Thank you," Millicent said. "For inviting me, I mean. Most people don't, because of my dad. So thank you."

A surprised look came over Hermione's face. "We might not be best friends, Millicent, but I'm not going to exclude people based on their blood. I'm not exactly someone to judge."

"Millie," Millicent offered, a small smile creeping over her face. "Call me Millie. Millicent is such a mouthful. Really only my mum and my grandfather call me Millicent," the girl rambled. "I just tell people to call me Millie, it's so much easier and less stuffy."

"You should try Hermione," the brunette joked, her body loosening up. "I can't even count the number of people who have mispronounced it. Herminniny, Herminy, Hermone, Harmony, Hermy, Herms, even. I hate those nicknames."

"What about Mione?" Millie asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe, I guess. It's the best of the worst. I just stick with Hermione."

"It's a pretty name," Millie offered. "Where's it from?"

"A book, a muggle book," Hermione clarified. "Written by Shakespeare. He's a famous muggle playwright."

"Sounds interesting," Millie said. "I should go now, but it was nice talking to you."

"You too," Hermione smiled. The two girls left the bathroom and climbed onto their respective beds, Hermione shutting her curtains before changing into her pajamas. She curled up under her covers and hugged her pillow close to herself, reflecting over the day's events.

Draco Malfoy was a spoiled brat, Hermione decided. Nothing was ever said 'no' to him, and he always expected to get his way. His mother, however, was considered Society royalty. Hermione wasn't sure how Daphne had managed to get Narcissa Malfoy to come to her soiree, but she was grateful. If Lady Malfoy had a good time, it could open doors for Hermione.

Millicent's offer of friendship was surprising. Hermione had always thought the other girl to be Pansy's shadow, but perhaps there was more to Millie than meets the eye. Maybe she would get her a copy of one of Shakespeare's books for Yule, and see how she reacted.

She did have to do something about the Potions partners, though. But she would figure that out tomorrow. She was tired and wanted to go to sleep.


	8. October 4, 1991

October 4, 1991

When Sunday rolled around, Hermione set out to put her plan in motion. Her first stop was to Jade and Rhea, to convince them to lead her new idea.

"You want me to do what?" Jade stared at her incredulously.

"Run the new Potions Club I'm forming," Hermione explained patiently.

"And what exactly do I get out of wasting my precious time to yell at bratty kids?" Jade asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, when the Professors see the improved marks of the first years, as well as your time dedicated to teaching them, you'll be a shoo in for Head Girl," Hermione said triumphantly.

"I'm in," Rhea said suddenly. "I could use the extra points, I'm pretty sure McGonagall hates me."

The two older girls shared a smirk, before they turned back to Hermione. "Alright. Convince Snape and you have me as a teacher," Jade declared. "And anyone there better be prepared to learn."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Hermione beamed. Out of instinct, she lunged forwards and wrapped her arms around Jade in a hug.

Shocked, it took Jade a minute to shake her off. "We do not hug," she said in a disgusted voice. "Hugging is for Weasleys. Compose yourself, Hermione."

Hermione straightened up and cleared her throat, sure that a blush was staining her cheeks. "Right. Of course. I'm going to go talk to Professor Snape now." She darted out of the room as quickly as was humanly possible.

"Come in, Miss Granger," Professor Snape's drawling voice came as soon as Hermione knocked on his office door.

"Hello, professor," Hermione said, fidgeting nervously with her robes. "I have a question to ask you."

"And I do not read minds, Miss Granger," Professor Snape responded, marking an essay. "So either tell me your question or stand there all day, I do not care."

"Right. Um, I want to start a Potions club. How would I go about doing that?"

Professor Snape put down his papers and stared at her for a second. "You want to start a Potions club."

"Yes, I do," Hermione nodded. "The...recent partner switches have led me to realize that not everyone is quite...gifted at Potions, and I feel a small course would be better for class and for the Potions lab as a whole."

"And who will be leading this class?" Professor Snape asked. "You are a first year. No one will take you seriously."

"I understand," Hermione nodded. "Jade Greengrass and Rhea Rosier have agreed to help."

"Then I wonder why you are asking me," Professor Snape said dryly.

"Because we need a Potions lab to use," Hermione explained.

Professor Snape frowned for a moment. "You may use the lab on Saturday afternoon. I expect that I will find my lab in the same condition it was at the beginning of the day."

"Yes, Professor, thank you!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Just go," Professor Snape sighed, massaging his temple.

Hermione nodded and scurried out the door, heading to her next stop.

"You want to do what?" Professor McGongall asked.

"Start a Potions club," Hermione said patiently. "Professor Snape is letting us use the lab on certain days, and we have a prefect and another sixth year who are more than willing to help out."

"Yes, yes," Professor McGonagall murmured, flipping through the papers Hermione had handed her. "Very well, this all looks to be in order. Will you be opening up your club to other houses?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "Although we'll be keeping it to only first years for the beginning, and only those who actually want to learn."

"That seems fair," Professor McGonagall said. "As long as you don't...discriminate against certain people."

Hermione stared at her for a minute. "Professor, I'm a muggleborn. I have no hatred against anyone because of their blood status."

"Yes, but those around you aren't always the best influences," Professor McGonagall said gently. "Friends can be influenced in subtle ways."

Hermione fumed silently. "Thank you for approving the club," she said abruptly, before turning around and promptly exiting the room.

How dare McGonagall try and tell her that her friends were bad influences! Hermione knew all about Death Eaters, and who their families were, but Daphne and Tracey's parents had never been on the list! They were good friends to her, and she wasn't about to give them up due to a Gryffindor's prejudice.

Hermione marched to the seventh floor, where the portrait of the Fat Lady guarded the Gryffindor common room, and sharply rapped on the door.

An older student poked his head out of the portrait hole, eyes widening slightly as he set eyes on the young Slytherin. "Can I help you?"

"Can you get Lavender Brown, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, please?" Hermione asked.

"Um, sure. Hold on a second."

Hermione tapped her foot against the floor as the boy disappeared, reappearing a few moments later with the three Gryffindors.

"Granger?" Lavender asked, surprised to see her.

"Right," Hermione said, clapping her hands. "So Draco Malfoy is a whiny brat and hates when things don't go his way, and my Potions grades are not about to suffer for that. Brown, you're attending my Saturday Potions club so that you can actually be helpful in class. Potter, I've been told that you have no basic Potions knowledge whatsoever, and this is your formal invitation to my club because Snape hates you for some reason and you're not going to learn anything in his class. Don't expect another. And Longbottom," she paused and gave the sandy-haired boy a once over, "I think you know exactly why you need to join the club."

Neville nodded sadly. "I'll be there."

"Good, then you won't be able to ruin Tracey's grades either. Now, two sixth years will be teaching us. They'll be going over the basic skills and ingredient prep, and then either reviewing the week's potion or going over next weeks. We start Saturday, 3 in the afternoon in the Potions lab," Hermione said briskly, before turning to look at each of the Gryffindors. "Feel free to invite any of your friends who want to learn, emphasis on the learn part. Anyone who comes as a joke or isn't polite to everyone will be asked to leave, no exceptions. Any questions?"

"Will Malfoy be there?" Harry ventured.

"Can I invite students from other houses?" Lavender asked.

"He might, but he'll have to be polite," Hermione said firmly. "And yes, but first years only." With that, Hermione turned and left, intent on heading back to the Dungeons to speak to the other Slytherins about the club.


	9. October 10, 1991

October 10, 1991

Hermione's thoughts, she thinks of people by their last names.

Jade, Hermione decided, was a much harder teacher than Professor Snape. While Professor Snape just put instructions on the board and spent the lesson barking at his students, Jade refused to let them even go near a cauldron for the first half of a lesson, instead choosing to quiz them on various ingredients.

"Potter," Jade began, after instructing them to address her as 'Miss Jade', "Name me three ingredients in the Boil Cure Potion."

"Um, slugs, porcupine quills, and snake fangs?" Harry listed.

"Correct," Jade nodded. "Although technically we use horned slugs. Why, Davis?"

"The horns are where the most concentration of magic can be found," Tracey replied promptly.

"And does every potion ingredient contain magic, Greengrass?"

"Every living organism contains different amounts of magic," Daphne said. "There are some potions ingredients that are exceptions, but for the most part, yes."

Lavender leaned over and whispered something to the dark haired girl next to her, the two giggling behind their hands.

"Brown!" Jade exclaimed, a smirk twisting onto her face. "How much magic do muggles have?"

Lavender looked up, startled. "None?"

"Wrong," Jade said sharply. "Granger?"

"Very little," Hermione said. "Enough to keep them alive, but not enough for them to feel it like we do."

"Good. Patil, how are the snake fangs prepared in the potion we're currently talking about?" Jade asked. "Gryffindor Patil."

"Ground?" Parvati guessed.

"Ravenclaw Patil?"

"Crushed," Padma said.

"Excellent. And the difference between crushing and grinding?" Jade nodded at Padma again.

"Crushing is typically breaking one big thing down into smaller pieces. Grinding is a more controlled process and aims to reduce the ingredient into a fine powder," Padma said.

"Very good," Jade said approvingly. "Longbottom, when do you add the Porcupine quills?"

"W-when you t-take the caul-cauldron off the f-fire," Neville stuttered.

"Good, good," Jade said approvingly. "I believe you had some personal experience with that, am I right. No matter, let's call on Goldstein for the next question. What color should the potion be when you are finished?"

"Blue," Anthony Goldstein said.

"Light or dark?" Jade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Light?"

"Good guess," Jade said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Alright, we're going to brew the boil cure potion today. Go stand by a cauldron, everyone."

"But we already did that, weeks ago," Ron Weasley protested loudly from his seat in the back next to Harry. "it's so easy!"

Hermione stifled a groan and turned to Daphne. "Why is he here?" she whispered.

Daphne shrugged. "Because Potter's here, and Weasley can't last five minutes without him."

Hermione giggled lightly as Jade made her way to the back. "Weasley, if I remember correctly, you were unable to brew the 'easy' potion," Jade said. "Now, please move to the front row. Next to Parkinson. Bulstrode, please go next to Potter." Ron and Millie switched seats, although rather unhappily. "Good, now, you'll all be working by yourself. Start by crushing the snake fangs."

~ Slytherin ~

Hermione was the last person to leave the Potions classroom, taking care that everything was cleaned up. All in all, for a first meeting, there had been a good turnout. Five Gryffindors, two Ravenclaws, and all of Slytherin besides for Draco Malfoy and his cronies had shown up, and nearly everyone had made a decent potion. Even Longbottom's had turned out good, and while Brown's was a dark blue, Hermione was confident that her Potions grade wouldn't be completely mangled. Weasley, for all his talk, had been the only person to mess up his potion, somehow managing to get a neon green liquid.

Everyone had behaved themselves, which was also good. Nobody had thrown insults or hexes, instead choosing to glare at each other from across the room. Hermione counted it a win. Jade had confided in her that she planned to create inter-house pairings for the next class, and Hermione was curious to see how that worked. With seven Slytherins, each Ravenclaw and Gryffindor would have to be paired with one of them, and she was betting that at least Weasley would throw a hissing fit when he found out.

"Ah, Miss Granger," Professor Snape's drawling voice interrupted her thoughts. "Might I spare a moment of your time?"

"Of course Professor," Hermione said. Professor Snape motioned her into his office, where she settled in a chair opposite his desk.

"I believe you had your first potions meeting today, is that right?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione replied.

"Has my classroom been destroyed?" Professor Snape asked dryly.

"No, professor," Hermione shook her head. "Everything's been cleaned up and all cauldrons are intact."

"Hmm," Professor Snape mused. "With Weasley and Longbottom in the lessons? And Potter?"

Hermione shrugged. "Potter's fine, but a bit quiet. I think you scare him, and Longbottom as well. He did fine without you looking over his shoulder." Hermione gasped when she realized what she said, and clapped her hands over her mouth.

Professor Snape raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Is that so? Well then, I must be doing something right. It is better to have them fear me and be conscious of their every move than be negligent and blow something up."

"Oh," Hermione said quietly, her eyes trained on her hands. "That makes sense."

"Yes," Professor Snape agreed. "And Miss Greengrass taught well?"

"Very well," Hermione nodded. "She's in your N.E.W.T. class, right?"

"I see that I chose right for prefect," Professor Snape said, choosing not to answer her question. Hermione resisted the urge to grin. Jade would be pleased.

"She's been very helpful," Hermione offered. "Willing to help the first years if we need it."

"I would say you wouldn't need her help very often, Miss Granger. Your marks are some of the best in your year," Professor Snape said.

Hermione shrugged modestly. "I try. I like to learn."

"That is something rare these days," Professor Snape said. "Convey my appreciate to Miss Greengrass for leaving my class room in one piece."

Hermione nodded. "I'll tell her when I see her tonight."

"You first years do flock around her," Professor Snape said quietly. "Almost like, well, one would say, a court."

Hermione gasped lightly. "Professor, were you in Slytherin?"

"Have a good day, Miss Granger," Professor Snape said firmly, the door opening with a wave of his hand.

"Yes, professor. Thank you," Hermione said absently as her mind fought to contain the new information. If Professor Snape had been a Slytherin, did that mean he knew more about what happened in the common room than she had originally thought? Hermione resolved to find out.


	10. October 16, 1991

October 16, 1991

Draco Malfoy didn't cross Hermione's mind again for the next few days, and Hermione threw herself into completing her homework, an old habit that she had brought with her.

"Hermione!" Tracey whined, dramatically flinging herself into a seat next to the brunette girl. "Please! I will die if we spend any more time today in the library!"

"Good, then I can get my homework done," Hermione murmured distractedly, her eyes skimming over the Charms homework Professor Flitwick had assigned that day.

"Daphne?" Tracey tried, turning to the third occupant of the small table.

"Just let me finish this history essay," Daphne promised.

"Fine," Tracey huffed, lowering her elbows onto the desk and resting her head in her hands.

"Daphne, Tracey, Granger," Pansy Parkinson called, hurrying through the doors of the library.

Hermione looked up from her homework, slightly surprised. After commiserating over the disastrous potions lesson together, the girls had called a shaky truce, united in their annoyance for Draco Malfoy. Hermione found that the more time you spent around Pansy, the less annoying she was, although they quickly agreed to keep calling the other by their last names. Hermione had graciously invited Pansy to the smaller gathering after her party, and Pansy had invited the muggle born to sit with her and some of the older girls at lunch the next day.

"Parkinson," Hermione nodded in greeting.

Pansy walked quickly to their desk, Millie only a second behind her. "Did you hear the news?"

"What news?" Tracey asked, frowning.

"Somebody pranked Draco," Pansy snickered.

"I thought you liked Draco," Millie said in confusion.

"Yes, but I'm mad at him right now," Pansy explained. "Plus, it was really funny to see him with Weasley hair and freckles."

The other girls laughed quietly, not wanting to get kicked out of the library.

"Did someone get a picture?" Tracey asked.

Pansy shook her head. "He got a fourth year to undo it before most people saw. I don't think we would have ever heard of it if I wasn't in the common room when he came in."

Hermione nodded slowly, before turning back to her homework. However, it was too hard for her to concentrate with the girls giggling next to her, so after a minute she gave up and placed her parchment in her bag. "I'm going back to the common room," Hermione announced.

"Bye," Tracey and Millie said in unison, before looking at each other and giggling again.

Hermione rolled her eyes slightly and stormed off. She was fine with a little talking, but it was nearly impossible to concentrate with the amount of noise those girls were making! Hermione entered the common room, thankful that it was empty at the moment. She flopped into one of the cozy armchairs and set her homework up on her lap, inking her quill.

Hermione worked peacefully for a few minutes, before she absentmindedly stood up to reach her bag and her papers crashed to the floor. "Oh no," Hermione cried as she rushed to reach the parchment, silently praying that the still wet ink hadn't smudged.

She breathed out a sigh of relief to see the immaculate words. "Okay, I can't work here," Hermione decided. She flipped through the parchments to place them in their correct order, but stopped in surprise when her fingers hit a creamy white parchment, one that was much fancier than the ones she used.

"What is this?" Hermione wondered to herself, pulling out the parchment. Her eyes scanned over the page, widening in surprise when she realized that it was a letter.

_My darling Draco,_

_I do hope you are keeping up your grades and enjoying your time at Hogwarts. I have enclosed your usual selection of sweets, be sure to share them with your friends and housemates._

_Your father and I have accepted an invitation to a coming of age party over Yule break, you will be attending with us. I believe the witch is a classmate of yours, Hermione Granger? I am unsure as to her heritage, and I hope you will be able to shed some light on that topic for us._

_Your loving mother,_

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Hermione's eyes widened as she read the letter. It came as no surprise to her that Narcissa Malfoy didn't know anything about her family, after all, she was a muggleborn. She was suddenly curious as to what Draco had responded. She hadn't spoken to him much, only to note that he was a spoiled child who thought the world revolved around him. Maybe that would be something for her to rectify in the next few days.

Hermione's ears prickled as she heard the common room open, and Hermione quickly dropped the letter and pretended to be reading.

"Mother makes me treats every week," the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy came. "Of course, I only share them with people who are of the right sort."

Hermione scoffed slightly to herself. She knew exactly what he meant by the 'right sort', and that she didn't fit into the list.

"Ahh, Granger," Draco smirked, coming to a stop as he noticed her sitting in an armchair. "How are your classes? Have you realized yet that you won't be able to keep up with the real witches and wizards?"

"Not yet," Hermione said with a small smirk, "I've been falling so far behind, I wanted to ask the person who's first in our year to help. Do you know who that is?" she asked innocently.

Draco scowled at her. "Mudbloods don't count," he spat back.

"You know, it's like you've never learnt anything," Hermione commented. "I don't know what you were doing before you came to Hogwarts, but clearly it wasn't biology."

Blaise Zabini, one of the boys clustered around Draco, laughed lightly. "Didn't you hear, Granger? They invented type Mud just for you."

"Right after type Idiot," Hermione shot back.

"Ah-ah, you're talking to someone who's sixth in our class," Blaise said with a grin. "It _obviously_ can't compare to yours, but Malfoy on the other hand..." Blaise trailed off as Draco scowled at him, the Italian's sarcastic words having an effect on the pompous blonde.

"Shut up Zabini," Draco grumbled as he pushed past the other boy, shoving his way up the staircase.

Blaise watched him go, an amused look on his face, before turning to Hermione. "You know, Granger, you're not that bad," he decided.

"Thank you?" Hermione said hesitantly.

Blaise nodded, appeased with her answer. "Well, I'll see you around."

Hermione watched Blaise exit the room, a confused look on her face. She had no idea of what the Slytherin was up to, and that worried her more than anything her mind could come up with.


	11. October 23, 1991

October 23, 1991

It was a dark, damp day that found Hermione settling herself in the library, her thick books being used to hide the small corner table from the rest of the library. Yesterday, she had gone to Madam Pince and asked about old yearbooks, but Tracey and Daphne had persuaded her to try new hairstyles with them, and Hermione's hadn't gotten a chance to look through the dusty books.

She had heard a rumor that Professor Snape had been rivals with James Potter in school, which would explain why he hated Harry so much. Doing the math of James Potter's death date and age, she calculated that he would have graduated in 1978. Hermione grabbed the 1977-1978 yearbook and began flipping through the pages.

Professor Snape was a Slytherin, she soon realized. He wasn't found in most of the pictures, but he had been awarded the top Potions grade each year, and those were all listed near the back. He hadn't been Top Student, no, that award had gone to a pretty redhead whose emerald eyes just had to make her Harry's mother. Strangely enough, the two pictures Hermione had found of Professor Snape also had the redhead, Lily Evans, in them. If Professor Snape and Harry's mother were friends, then why would Professor Snape hate Harry Potter so much? Hermione flipped through the pages, hoping to find answers to her questions. When her search yielded nothing, she pulled another yearbook from the stack at random. Hermione carefully pried the 1973-1974 yearbook open, gasping when the very first picture she noticed was one of an older Draco Malfoy. Hermione looked closer at the caption. "Lucius Malfoy and Thoros Nott, Slytherin 7th Years," she muttered to herself, turning to the next page. Three girls adorned the page, smiling with the half-smirks that Slytherins were known for. Two had dark curly hair, and were seated on either side of the blonde. Andromeda (7th), Narcissa (5th), and Bellatrix Black (6th), Slytherins, the caption read. Flipping through the next couple of pages, Hermione spotted one of the brunettes, Andromeda, in a few other pictures, mostly with a mousy haired boy named Ted Tonks. Hermione flipped to the house pictures, her eyes picking out familiar faces. Thoros Nott had to be Theodore Nott's father, while Draco was nearly the spitting image of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione spotted Andromeda again, this time sitting on the edge of a group of girls. The students were dressed in their school robes, Slytherin ties and crest proudly displayed. Hermione's eyes raked over Lucius Malfoy's body again, frowning when she realized that the image was disoriented at the top, a bright spot blocking out part of the Slytherin's hair. It was almost as if Lucius had been wearing a crown of sorts...Hermione's mind flashed back to the night of the Sorting, to when she spotted Jade fingering the small tiara that she wore.

Hermione looked down slowly, before jumping up in surprise as she grasped for her bag, nearly turning her chair over in her excitement. She pulled out the book Jade had given her, flipping through the pages until she came to a list of names. Sure enough, Lucius Malfoy was listed from years 1970/1971 - 1973/1974. The next entry was dated a few years later, and Jade's name was printed directly under that of Stephen Selwyn.

What was the mystery of the Slytherin court, that every older Slytherin that Hermione had spoken to had referenced? Scanning her mind, Hermione remembered how reverently the girls in her dorm had talked about the elder Malfoys, calling them legends and looking up to them. Did it have something to do with their time in Slytherin? She had read in an old newspaper about Lucius Malfoy and his time as a Death Eater, which, whether it was true or not, would have seen any normal person ostracized from society. But if Lucius Malfoy was above society, was there anything he couldn't get away with?

Jade had spoken of her career aspirations as if she was sure of them, mentioning slyly how the master she wanted to apprentice under was a former Slytherin. It had been the Greengrass name that had gotten the Malfoys to attend her coming of age party, and she wondered whether it was due to Jade and Daphne's parents, who were apparently close friends with the Malfoys, or Jade's achievements, particularly the one that had her in the same position as Lucius Malfoy himself held years ago.

Hermione opened the yearbook again. Lucius Malfoy was listened under the top scorers for Potions, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, and Ancient Runes, and had been the Slytherin prefect for three years. She quickly grabbed another yearbook, this one dated in 1985/1986, the sole year that Stephen Selwyn had been listed for in the book. He had been the Top Student in his year, gaining top marks in nearly all of his classes. And Hermione knew that Jade was the top student in her year, already prefect and on her way to becoming Head Girl.

As a muggleborn, she knew that she was already going to be discriminated against. Lucius Malfoy was a pureblood, Stephen Selwyn was a pureblood, and Jade was also a pureblood. With the exception of some guy named Tom Riddle, every single person on the list was a pureblood and related to some prominent wizarding family. She had checked it out too, scanning almost half of the old yearbooks to match names to faces.

If she was to succeed in this new world, Hermione had to do something big. Something that would make people notice her...like actually paying attention to the party planning. She hadn't been convinced originally, but if this would make people in this new world like her, then she was going to have to start to put a real effort in. It was time to start thinking like a Slytherin.


	12. October 24, 1991

October 24, 1991

As she promised herself, Hermione started taking a more active role in the party planning the next morning.

"So you're saying, that the Farleys are coming but they're not as high priority as the Blackthorns, even though they have more political power?"

"Right," Daphne nodded. "Because you have a personal connection to the Blackthorns."

"Juliette," Hermione said slowly. "Because Jade is friends with her-"

"And Jade's taken you under her wing!" Tracey interjected excitedly.

"And for that reason, we didn't invite the Travers," Hermione continued, her voice growing. "Because Lilian was rude to me and it's a slight against her family."

"Exactly," Daphne said triumphantly. "See, you're getting the hang of this."

Hermione nodded happily. "I'll still leave the dresses to you, though."

"Don't worry," the blonde reassured her. "I'll give you a crash course."

"Okay."

"White is only acceptable for children under twelve and brides," Daphne said firmly. "It represents innocence and purity, so unless you're Light, you don't go around wearing white after you..mature."

"By mature, you mean..." Hermione trailed off, unsure if it was proper to discuss the topic.

"Your cycle," Daphne whispered, before slapping a hand over her mouth and giggling.

"Yellow is a big no," Tracey cut in, ignoring the still-giggling Daphne. "Just don't wear yellow. It makes you seem like you don't want to belong in Society. Also, it's Hufflepuff colors."

"Red is love and confidence," Daphne chimed back in. "Pink is typically worn by younger girls or older girls who want to show off their body."

"So you basically have three colors," Tracey said. "Purple, blue, and green. Unless you want to wear red or pink, but they're less common."

"Jade did jade," Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "I'm doing blue for mine."

"I'm wearing pink," Tracey offered. "My mom picked it out, I haven't even seen the dress yet."

Hermione nodded slowly. "What about purple? It's typically known as the color of royalty."

"The Wizengamot wear purple robes," Daphne agreed. "Purple and gold, then. Show them that you won't settle for anything less than the best."

"How many parties will there be?" Hermione asked suddenly. "Like, over break."

Daphne frowned thoughtfully. "Well, there's yours. There's the Malfoy Yule ball, and we hold a New Years party as well. There might be a few smaller ones."

"Do you go to all of them?" Hermione asked.

"We do," Daphne confirmed. "You'll come to ours, of course, and 'Cousin Azalea' will be attending the Malfoy party with us."

"Right, that," Hermione murmured.

"You'll do fine," Daphne said, waving a hand dismissively in the air. "We'll go over table manners and dancing another day." She paused and turned to Hermione. "You can dance, right?"

Hermione gulped. "No?"

~ Slytherin ~

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she escaped the Slytherin common room. Daphne had spent the past hour and a half teaching her the proper way to hold a fork, and criticizing Hermione in every aspect.

"So who tortured you?" Blaise Zabini asked, amused.

Hermione gave a yelp and jumped in fright, turning to the Italian boy. "You scared me!"

"I did," Blaise agreed.

Hermione stared at him for a minute, before shaking her head. "No one tortured me."

"Your face says otherwise," Blaise pointed out.

Hermione glared at him. "I'm going to the library," she declared, stomping past the Slytherin.

"I'll walk you," Blaise informed her, falling in step with her brisk walk. "Anything in particular you're looking for."

"Nothing in particular," Hermione shrugged. "Curses. History. Say, what do you know about the Slytherin court?"

"A bit," Blaise said casually. "Might I ask why?"

"I've been hearing bits and pieces," Hermione said, matching Blaise's tone. "Certain...things."

Blaise's eyes gleamed. "Shall we share our information, then?"

"You first," Hermione tilted her head towards him.

"Not here," Blaise murmured, leading her into an empty classroom. "How did you first hear about the Slytherin court?"

"Jade," Hermione admitted. "How many people are in the court?"

"There's the prince/princess, and then typically four to six others," Blaise responded. "Do you know any of the previous princes?"

"Lucius Malfoy was one," Hermione offered. "Who told _you_ about the court?"

"My mother," Blaise shrugged elegantly. "Why should I attend your party over break?"

Hermione paused, having not expected the question. "Because it's the start of something," she said slowly. "Something big. Something that you want to be apart of."

"Oh, really?" Blaise raised his eyebrows.

"Zabinis like to win, don't they?" Hermione said.

"Well, you have that right, if nothing else," Blaise murmured. "Alright, Hermione, you have me convinced. Now, will you do something for me?"

"What?" Hermione said bluntly.

Blaise smiled slowly. "You are going to make friends with Draco Malfoy."

Hermione's eyes widened as Blaise's words sunk in. "No. Absolutely not. I refuse to have anything to do with that spoiled brat-"

"Who is currently at the top of Society," Blaise cut in. "If Draco likes you, then he will pass on a good word to his mother. And whatever Narcissa Malfoy says, goes."

"Fine," Hermione said, resigned. "But- we're also going to befriend Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter," Blaise repeated, a faint look of shock on his face.

"He's Dumbledore's golden boy," Hermione said with a shrug. "He can do no wrong. He's also the Boy-Who-Lived and the savior of the wizarding world."

"Very good," Blaise said approvingly. "We'll start a study group, then."

"We can get Susan Bones as well," Hermione said. "Her aunt is high in the DMLE."

"The Patil twins are the daughters of the Indian Minister," Blaise offered.

"Neville Longbottom is a genius in Herbology," Hermione added. "And when he's old enough, will be on the Wizengamot."

"Useful connection," Blaise agreed. "If only we could ally Malfoy and Potter."

"We might," Hermione said, a plan forming in her mind. "Blaise, how do you feel about Quidditch?"

"I'm a fairly decent Chaser," Blaise said. "What for?"

"In the muggle world, people talk online without ever seeing the other person," Hermione said excitedly. "If we can get Harry and Malfoy to have a conversation, they'll see that they have a lot in common."

"This could work," Blaise mused. "It's about to be dinner, so we'll work on this more tomorrow."

Hermione nodded and grinned at Blaise, who smiled back. "Blaise, I think this is the beginning of a great friendship."


	13. October 31, 1991

October 31, 1991

When she woke up Halloween morning, Hermione wasn't sure what she was expecting. She had heard some of the older students talk about the feast and its larger-than-life decorations, but just like with everything else, Slytherins did things differently.

"Good morning, Hermione," Daphne said solemnly as the two girls met in the bathroom.

"Good morning Daphne," Hermione said, blinking at herself in the mirror. "Happy Halloween."

Daphne made a noise that was a cross between a shriek and a croak. "Today is Samhain, Hermione. Halloween is for muggle lovers and Dumbledore cronies."

"Like the pagan festival?" Hermione said skeptically.

"Exactly," Daphne said. "Today is a day to remember those who have passed on, not for people to stuff themselves with sugar."

"Do the other houses celebrate Samhain?" Hermione asked.

Daphne shrugged. "Some Ravenclaws, maybe a few Hufflepuffs. Anyone who does will just join the Slytherin table for the feast, however."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Do we do anything different?"

"Lots," Daphne answered immediately. "For starters, wear black today."

"I don't have any black robes," Hermione said hesitantly.

"Do you have a black dress?"

"I think so."

"Then you can wear that," Daphne said. "And if you have someone close to you who's passed on, we put pictures up in the common room."

"My grandmother died two years ago," Hermione said quietly. "I have a few pictures of her."

Daphne nodded. "My aunt was killed during the war," she explained, showing Hermione a picture of a young woman.

"She looks just like you," Hermione murmured.

Daphne smiled sadly. "Yeah."

~ Slytherin ~

The common room was fully decorated for Samhain, with garlands of rosemary strung around the fireplace, and various harvest crops dotting the floor. Wicker baskets of apples were placed on tables, along with plates of a delicious looking bread. Following Daphne's lead, Hermione took a piece and dipped it into a yellow-white sauce. The creamy butter melted on her tongue and Hermione moaned in delight, taking another bite.

"You can put the picture on the fireplace," Daphne murmured. Tracey, Pansy and Millie were already there, looking somber as they clustered around a photograph.

Hermione nodded. She pulled her grandmother's picture out of her pocket and placed it on the fireplace, its ornate frame not out of place with the number of pictures already there.

"Granger," Draco Malfoy greeted her, placing a picture on the mantel. "Do all muggle pictures not move?"

Hermione shook her head. "They just stay still."

"Interesting," Draco said quietly. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. My condolences as well."

Draco inclined his head at her before walking away, leaving Hermione standing by the fireplace, slightly confused.

Draco normally ignored her, or if he did deign to talk to her, only shot insults. But today, he spoke politely and and was respectful to her. Was it because of Samhain? Hermione resolved to find Daphne and ask.

"Samhain isn't a day for petty arguments," Daphne explained when Hermione found her. "Today is a day for honoring and remembering the dead, and so all disagreements are put on hold for the day."

"So what else happens?" Hermione asked curiously.

"After the feast," Daphne said, keeping her voice low, "we'll all go outside and there'll be a bonfire. There's singing and dancing and everything."

"And at the feast?" Hermione asked.

"Smoked meat and harvest crops," Daphne said. "Traditional nuts and apples."

"If Dumbledore doesn't follow Samhain, then why are there traditional Samhain foods?"

Daphne smiled. "Hermione, who cooks the food?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted.

"House elves," Daphne told her. "I'll tell you more another time, but they go back years and years, to when Samhain was celebrated openly. And they make the food. Not Dumbledore."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Does only Slytherin have those foods?"

"The rest of the school and the teachers have sweets and regular foods," Daphne nodded.

"Are you instructing Hermione about Samhain?" Jade asked, joining the two.

"I am," Daphne answered.

"How does Dumbledore not realize we have different foods?" Hermione wondered.

"Dumbledore only pays attention to himself," Jade answered. "He doesn't care about anything that doesn't concern him."

"So Slytherin," Hermione said, her heart sinking.

"So Slytherin," Jade agreed.

~ Slytherin ~

The Halloween feast was everything Daphne said it would be. Bats flew around the hall, flying circles over pumpkins so large Hermione herself could fit in them. Garlands were draped over candelabras, and lights flickered out every there and then, casting a spooky glow over the hall. Looking at the tables, Hermione could see how the Slytherin table had much less food than the other tables, and instead of various dishes, the same few were repeated throughout the table. Like all the other Slytherins, and the few guests who joined them, Hermione gathered meat and vegetables on her plate and began eating.

"I don't get why only Slytherin celebrates the Old Ways," Padma Patil murmured. Her sister, Parvati, nodded besides her.

"Gryffindor's been eating sweets all day," the Gryffindor added. "It's really disrespectful."

Hermione frowned. "Even Harry Potter?" Parvati nodded. "Didn't his parents die today?"

"We should invite him over," Daphne said quietly. "Show our respect for his parents. She may have been a muggleborn, but Lily Evans saved us all."

"I'll go," Hermione volunteered.

"I shall accompany you," Draco announced, rising from his seat and taking Hermione by surprise. "Parvati, would you care to come as well?" The Indian girl nodded, and the odd trio walked across the room to the Gryffindor table.

"Harry?" Parvati asked. Harry's head snapped up from his plate.

"Parvati. Malfoy. Granger," he said in surprise. "Can I help you?"

Hermione cleared her throat. "Potter, in respect for your parents and the day of Samhain, we would like to invite you to join us in our Samhain celebration."

"What's Samhain?" Harry asked, a look of confusion spread clearly across his face.

"A day for commemorating the dead," Draco explained, using the same polite tone as he had this morning. "Today is the anniversary of your parents death. We might not see eye to eye, but it is Samhain, and all disagreements are set aside."

"Don't go, Harry," Ron Weasley insisted, tugging on his friend's sleeve. "Why would you want to go hang out with slimy Slytherins, anyway?"

Harry looked conflicted, glancing between the two groups. "I don't know Ron," he said softly. "My parents did die today. I'm not really in the mood for celebrating."

"Suit yourself," Ron said grumpily. "But Weasleys always celebrate Halloween, not Samhain.

Draco cleared his throat. "Actually, I believe your brother William was at last year's Samhain feast at the Manor."

Harry stood up. "I'll see you later, Ron," he said, taking the hand Parvati offered to him. "Is Samhain a big deal in the Wizarding world?" he asked once they were a few feet from the Gryffindor table.

"In Society, yes," Draco answered. "Dumbledore has tried to outlaw the Old Ways, but people still celebrate them."

The foursome sat back down, Daphne and Tracey scooting over so Harry could sit in the middle of Hermione and Parvati.

"Blessed Samhain, Potter," Daphne said quietly, handing him a plate of smoked meat.

Harry accepted the meat and glanced at each of his new table mates before spooning a piece onto his plate. "Thank you."


	14. October 31, 1991 PART TWO

October 31, 1991

The feast lasted for a couple of hours, and soon enough the Slytherins were sitting silently, quietly conversing while the other houses stuffed themselves with sweets. To keep up appearances, dessert had appeared on the Slytherin table, although no one had touched it. Even Harry, after a small whisper from Parvati, hadn't taken any sugar.

"When does the bonfire start?" Hermione asked Daphne quietly.

"As soon as we're dismissed," Daphne replied. "We go downstairs and get ready, and then we'll all meet outside."

"What do you mean by 'get ready'?" Harry asked.

Daphne turned to the black haired boy. "We'll all go put on black robes. Traditionally, girls weave rosemary into their hair, but boys don't have to do that. If you have any pictures of your parents, you can put them on the fireplace with others."

Harry bit his lip and looked down. "I don't have any pictures of my parents," he admitted in a small voice. "I don't have black robes either. Just my school robes."

"You've never seen a picture of your parents?" Draco interjected, a frown on his face. Harry shook his head silently. "Do you have any robes other than your school robes?"

Harry shook his head again, embarrassed. "I didn't know we needed any. Hagrid just got me what was on the supply list."

The Slytherins exchanged looks, but Parvati spoke first. "Why would Hagrid be bringing you to get your school supplies? He's not an actual professor."

"Hagrid's really nice," Harry protested.

"I'm not saying that he's not," Parvati said gently. "But muggleborn introduction are normally done by the Deputy Headmistress or other senior teachers."

"You can borrow one of our robes, Potter," Draco offered generously. "We'll see whose fit best."

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully.

"And Professor Snape was good friends with your mum in school," Draco continued. Harry looked up in surprise.

"That's right," Hermione chimed in. "There are some pictures in the yearbooks of them. Along with your father."

"Where are the yearbooks?" Harry asked hungrily.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off when a loud bang echoed through the hall. The doors had been thrown open, and Professor Quirrel ran through, yelling, "Troll! Troll in the dungeons!" He looked between the house tables, before saying, "Thought you ought to know."

Two things then happened simultaneously: Professor Quirrel collapsed in a dead faint, and the Great Hall descended into pandemonium.

"Prefects!" Professor Dumbledore boomed, using a charm so everyone could hear him, "Please lead your House back to your common room."

"Our common room is in the dungeons!" several Slytherins squealed. Hermione looked around frantically, but the Professors had all left to go find the troll.

"Why don't we just all stay here?" She said aloud. Jade, who was walking by, looked at her and blinked.

"That is a great idea," she said in surprise, before pointing her wand at the doors and spelling them shut. "First years!" Jade called, standing on the Slytherin table so everyone could see her. "Go behind the teachers' table. Second years, follow. Third years are next, followed by the fourth years. Fifth year and up, please form a barricade around the younger years and aim wands towards the doors. Group together by house and year and find out if anyone is missing!"

Everyone was scared to the point that they followed Jade's instructions without complaint, grouping together and ducking behind the large table. After a small argument between a third year Slytherin and a fourth year Gryffindor, everyone was counted present and the students settled in to wait.

"I'm assuming this is not a typical Samhain activity," Hermione muttered out of the corner of her mouth. Blaise looked over at her and grinned.

"Oh yeah, it's the yearly fight-for-your-life," he joked. A bunch of people laughed.

"Quiet!" Jade, still under the Sonorus spell, yelled.

~ Slytherin ~

In the end, they stayed in the Hall for almost an hour. The troll had been found in the second floor girls' bathroom, and the professors had hunted it down and killed it.

"Professor Snape was the one to strike the killing blow," Pansy confided in a hushed voice. "I heard some of the fifth years talking about it."

After the professors had found the troll, they had returned to the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore was furious that the students had disobeyed his orders, despite the protests of "Our common room is in the dungeons!". Professor Snape had awarded 50 points to Slytherin, and Professor Flitwick had then awarded points to everyone in fifth year and up, for protecting the students. Professor Sprout had disappeared in a group hug with her Hufflepuffs, while Professor McGonagall simply led the Gryffindors to their tower, clucking her tongue disapprovingly at them.

Harry and Parvati had reluctantly gone with them, but even if they had been able to stay, no bonfire would be happening that night. Professor Snape had ordered his house into lockdown, and no one had dared to argue. While everyone was upset they couldn't celebrate Samhain, no one wanted to risk being outside when a troll had gotten past the wards only hours ago. Instead, they gathered together in the common room and dorms, giving hushed guesses of the troll's defeat and sharing rumors that they had heard.

The Slytherin first year girls had clustered on Pansy and Millie's beds, sharing the gossip the portraits had told them. Whether it was because of Samhain or she had simply just warmed up to Hermione, Pansy was being nice and for the first time Hermione felt accepted by all four of her dorm mates. Hermione smiled to herself as she snuggled further under Millie's blanket, Tracey giggling a little when their feet touched.

"Hermione, you're cold!" the brunette exclaimed. Hermione shot her a sheepish grin.

She had never had female friends before. Was this what is was like? If so, it felt really nice to be apart of something. As if she really belonged here.

But she knew that her journey wasn't over yet. Pansy may have accepted her, but Pansy Parkinson was just one of many prejudiced witches and wizards. She would have to work hard to convince them, but for now, it was late at night and Hermione just wanted to sleep. She would start in the morning.


	15. December 21, 1991

December 21, 1991

November passed by and the days turned colder, frost settling over the castle. Hermione often found herself bundling herself up in sweaters and scarves, and it was with great regret that she placed them into her trunk. With an hour and a half until the train left, nearly all of her clothes had been packed, with only a few winter items remaining.

Her packing wasn't the only thing that had gone well for Hermione recently. Her study group had started, and Hermione, Susan Bones and Padma Patil met weekly, with Blaise joining occasionally. Originally, Draco and Harry had both come to a session, but when the news broke about Harry being the new Gryffindor seeker, Draco had been furious. The two boys had gotten into in argument that had resulted in the group being kicked out from the library, and neither Harry nor Draco had returned to the study group next week. It was the one time she agreed with Draco, although he had taken it a bit far. In her opinion, Quidditch was stupid and unimportant, but since the rest of the Wizarding World loved it, she had reluctantly gone to last week's game.

Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin, with Harry catching the snitch in his mouth. It was a perfectly legal move, but it caused Draco to whine for so long that Hermione had been tempted to shove the snitch down his throat.

"Hermione," Tracey said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Hermione gave her friend a smile. "Let's go."

She would go home to her parents for a few days, before the Greengrasses picked her up on the 23rd. The Malfoy yule ball would be on the 24th, and then she would go back to her parents for a few days before returning to the Greengrasses for their annual New Years party. Her own party would be January 3rd, and they would return to Hogwarts on January 5th. All in all, it was a pretty busy break, and she had to make sure that everything was ready.

Her dresses had been sent to the Greengrasses, so she didn't have to worry about those. Presents had been purchased for Jade, Daphne, Tracey and Blaise, with smaller presents sent to Pansy, Millie, and the girls in her study group, and candy for the rest of the boys in her year. In addition, Jade had organized a Yule Mystery for each year, which turned to be exactly the same as Secret Santa. She had gotten Draco Malfoy, and planned to send his gift in a few days. Through her parents, she had ordered a gorgeous glass dragon from a shop near her home. The dragon gave the impression as if it were moving, with sparkling emerald swirls and pale yellow-green dust encased in layers of clear glass. She had actually ordered most of her gifts from that shop, which was owned by a family friend. Amaya Starr was a close friend of Emma Granger in college, and when Amaya had opened up a glass shop, she had given Hermione an after-school job. Hermione had been paid in small animal figurines, and any birthday or Christmas money had been spent building up her collection. She had been pleased to discover that her 'employee discount' was still valid, and had promptly spent 99 percent of her allotted present money.

Daphne and Tracey had gotten matching butterfly clips, with Tracey's in light pink and Daphne's in magenta. Butterflies were apparently a big symbol for witches when they matured, and so Hermione had immediately picked out the clips. For Jade, she had chosen a delicate flower necklace, one that Amaya had assured her was well worth the four weeks she'd be working in the shop during the summer. Amaya also dabbled in beading, so she had made Hermione a couple of beaded bracelets for her friends. Pansy was obviously getting the pink one, Millie really liked green, and since the two colors left were blue and gold, she decided to give Padma and Susan their house colors.

For her parents, she had gotten them some enchanted floss candy that Jade had bought for her from Hogsmeade. She had also taken a few pictures of her and her friends at Hogwarts, so they could see the castle.

"Hermione, we're going!" Tracey said impatiently, tapping her foot.

"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly. She followed the other girl to the Great Hall, where Daphne, Pansy, and Millie were talking.

"Cousin Azalea will be visiting us this year," Daphne was saying. She turned and smirked at Hermione. "We're all looking forwards to her visit. She'll be with us for most of the holiday season."

"She's going to the Malfoy ball?" Pansy asked skeptically.

"Oh yes, Narcissa Malfoy is very excited to meet her," Daphne said with a sly smile.

Pansy opened her mouth, but was cut off by Blaise sliding into the seat next to Hermione. "Good morning, ladies."

"Good morning Blaise," Hermione said, the others all nodding or waving. "Are you looking forwards to the break?"

"Yes, very much," Blaise said. "Mother and I will be in Italy for Yule, but I believe we'll be coming back in time for New Year," he inclined his head towards Daphne. "You'd have to check with Mother though, she's got our schedule planned out to the second."

"What's the magical history in Italy like?" Hermione asked, her eyes gleaming.

"Never mind that, will you bring us back chocolates?" Tracey cut in, leaning across the table.

Blaise let out a small laugh. "Very fascinating, and it depends on when we get back," he answered. "We might not have time to go to the chocolate shop, and you all know Mother doesn't do anything but the best."

The other girls nodded, and Hermione was sure that she had a curious expression on her face. She would have to ask Blaise about his mother sometime.

"We're going to get presents over break," Blaise promised, answering something Hermione hadn't caught. "So don't worry about owls, we'll send them once we're back in England. Or we might just have the shop do it, it all depends."

Tracey nodded and the group lapsed into silence, enjoying their last few moments together. Hermione was excited for break. It was her first opportunity to show everyone that she was worthy of being in the Wizarding world, and everything had to be perfect.


	16. December 24, 1991

December 24, 1991

The first days of winter break had passed quickly, and while Hermione enjoyed seeing her parents, she couldn't wait to visit Greengrass Manor and return to the magical world. Her first day there had gone well, and Hermione had met Jade and Daphne's younger sister Astoria, as well as the girls' parents, Charlotte and Damien, and they all seemed really nice.

Her second day was a little more hectic. Daphne had dragged her into the bedroom as soon as lunch was over, and ordered her to shower. After her shower, using a special shampoo Jade gave her for the occasion, Hermione wrapped herself in a robe and hurried to the older Greengrass sister's room.

"Hermione, your hair looks great!" Daphne squealed. Hermione turned to a mirror and gasped at her reflection. Her hair had turned a dark shade to match Astoria's dark brown waves.

"What-how?" Hermione stammered.

"It was the potion," Jade explained. "It'll last twenty four hours before turning back, so no one will look too closely at you tonight."

"Okay," Hermione said nervously. "Should I get dressed now?"

Her hair was styled and makeup applied before Hermione was allowed to put on her dress. Jade had helped her pick out a dark blue dress with lacy patterns. Sheer sleeves went down to her elbows, and the dress itself fell to just above her knees. Jade then charmed a pair of flats to match the dress and Hermione slipped them on, along with a silver necklace. Only then did Hermione turn around to see what the others were wearing.

Daphne was wearing a lacy lavender dress that fell to her knees, while Jade's deep green dress was cut in a more mature style. Astoria bounced into the room after a few minutes, wearing a pink and white flowered dress with a big sash.

"Children, time to go!" Charlotte Greengrass called.

Hermione followed her friends out of the room, where Mrs. Greengrass cast a quick spell to turn her eyes blue and give her freckles. Hermione Granger may have arrived at the manor, but it was Azalea Greengrass who was leaving.

~ Slytherin ~

Malfoy Manor was as big as Draco had claimed, in fact, it was much more grand. Gorgeous chandeliers spiraled over the enormous ballroom, where finely dressed guests talked and sipped drinks. Tables groaning with food lined the walls, and delicate glasses were filled with ever color liquid you could ever images. Daphne snagged two flutes of a light pink drink and Hermione sipped the champagne, surprised that Daphne's parents were letting them have the wine.

"Azalea, you have champagne often at home, right?" Daphne said as they passed by a snooty looking couple.

"All the time," Hermione agreed, tilting her nose up a little.

"Ah, Draco, have you met my cousin Azalea yet?" Daphne inquired as the blonde passed by.

Draco stopped and turned to the two girls, taking Hermione's hand and lightly kissing the back of it. "Enchanted to meet you, I'm Draco Malfoy," he said politely. "Daphne, lovely to see you as well."

"It's a pleasure," Hermione murmured, curtsying like Daphne had showed her. "Your home is lovely."

"Thank you," Draco said graciously. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Very much," Hermione reassured him. "Are your parents around? I'd love to convey my admiration."

"I believe they're talking to the Minister," Draco said, inclining his head. "I should go now, but will you save me a dance?"

Hermione blushed as Daphne grabbed her hand tightly. "Sure," she said. "I'll find you later."

Daphne squealed quietly as Draco moved away, not even carrying that Hermione had mixed up the last couple of words. "I told you it would work!"

Hermione laughed. "I can't believe that just happened."

"Might I ask what you two lovely ladies are talking about?" the voice Hermione knew to belong to Blaise Zabini inquired.

"Hello Blaise," Daphne greeted. "Blaise, this is my cousin Azalea. Azalea, this is Blaise Zabini, one of my classmates."

"Enchanted to meet you," Blaise said, kissing her hand like Draco did. "Azalea, that's a lovely name."

"Thank you."

"You know, you remind me of a girl I know," Blaise continued. "She rather loves reading."

"Does she?" Hermione said politely. "How nice."

"Have you read A Winter's Tale?" Blaise asked, his eyes locking onto hers. "It's one of my favorites."

"I'm rather partial to Keep Your Mouth Shut," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "I think you should read that one."

"Don't worry, I will," Blaise said lightly. "I'm off to go mingle, I'll see you two when the dancing starts."

Hermione let out a sigh and turned to Daphne. "Well, if anyone would figure it out it was going to be Blaise."

Daphne chuckled. "Come on, I should introduce you to the Malfoys."

~ Slytherin ~

When Daphne finally got a chance to introduce her to Narcissa Malfoy, Hermione was stunned. Narcissa Malfoy might possibly be the most gorgeous, manipulative, cunning person Hermione had ever met, and she realized exactly why the other girls idolized her. While Lucius Malfoy was speaking to the Minister, it was Narcissa who floated around the ballroom, charming people with witty words and sly comments. It was Narcissa who knew how to make Department Heads pale, who would compliment and criticize in the same sentence, and who knew exactly how to capture the attention of every person in the room.

"Lady Malfoy," Daphne greeted, dropping into a small curtsy. Hermione copied her. "Thank you for inviting us tonight, it's been spectacular."

"Of course, Miss Greengrass," Narcissa said graciously. "And this is your cousin, Azalea, right?"

Hermione nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for inviting me."

"Such manners," Narcissa smiled. "Are you enjoying your visit?"

"Very much," Hermione responded. "France is lovely this time of year, but I do enjoy the snow. We don't get much snow back home."

Narcissa nodded, and Hermione got the impression that she had passed some sort of test. "I hope you don't think me rude, but would you excuse me? I must go and ensure that the musicians are prepared."

"Of course," Hermione said. "It was lovely to meet you, Lady Malfoy."

"The pleasure was all mine," Narcissa responded, before sweeping away in a flurry of emerald velvet. The two girls watched her go before Daphne turned to Hermione.

"That went well, I think," she said, biting her lip. "It's impossible to tell, though."

"Wow," Hermione breathed. "So that was Narcissa Malfoy. I totally get why," she broke off and shook her head. "Just wow."

"I told you," Daphne nodded knowingly. "And to think, you only talked to her for thirty seconds."

Hermione let out a sigh. "She's like the perfect Slytherin."

"Hopefully that'll be us in ten years," Daphne said wistfully. "Us and Tracey."

"Hopefully," Hermione agreed.


	17. January 3, 1992

January 3, 1991

Hermione woke up on the day of her party amid pandemonium. Charlotte, as she had insisted Hermione call her, had gone to France yesterday with a friend and was stuck there due to a floo problem. Damien had been called into work to deal with the floo problem, leaving the four under-aged witches alone with no way to decorate for the party.

Even more so, the dress Hermione had ordered had been caught in the rain and delivered sopping wet, and with the magic-resistant charms on it, had to be dried naturally. Even the flower bouquets were ruined, with Astoria's cat Mallow having pounced upon the pretty arrangements.

"Astoria, give that back!" she heard Daphne yell.

"It's my brush!" Astoria yelled back. "Ow!"

Someone knocked on the door and Hermione turned to see Jade leaning against the door frame. "So," Jade started.

"Everything's ruined, isn't it?" Hermione said glumly. "No dress, no flowers, no adults to help decorate," she listed.

"Okay, so plan A might be a disaster," Jade said, "but there are other options."

Hermione looked at her doubtfully. "We ordered the dress weeks ago, there's no way to get another one. And-"

"I'm going to cut you off right there," Jade said, holding up a hand. "Look, I know you wanted this party to be all magical. You didn't even invite your parents!" Hermione blushed. "But I think we're going to have to go into the muggle world for this one."

"What do you suggest we do?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"We are calling in reinforcements," Jade said firmly. "Hermione, get dressed and come downstairs. We have until six o'clock to do this and we will do this."

~ Slytherin ~

When Hermione arrived downstairs fifteen minutes later, she found Rhea Rosier and Julianne Blackthorn sitting at the table, eating breakfast like it was the most normal thing in the world. A brush lay near Rhea, most likely the one Daphne and Astoria had been arguing about.

"Okay!" Jade called, sweeping into the room. "It's eight o'clock, and thanks to certain people," she turned and stared pointedly at her younger sisters, who flushed, "we're all awake. Here's what's going to happen. Daphne and Julianne will go ahead to the party location and decorate.

"I turned seventeen a couple weeks ago," Julianne offered quietly.

"Astoria and Rhea will go to the florist's. Hermione and I will start with them, to work out the muggle money, but then we will go dress shopping. We're leaving now!"

~ Slytherin ~

After taking three girls in a car for the first time, Hermione was more than happy to enter the florist's shop. Right away, Jade hurried up to the counter.

"Hi, how may I help you?" the woman behind the counter smiled. Her name tag read 'Emma'.

"We're looking for eighteen flower bouquets, six in baskets and twelve in vases," Jade said bluntly. "We need them by five o'clock today."

"Well, that's a rather large order," Emma tried to laugh.

"We'll pay triple," Jade interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. "Now, we'll need azaleas, definitely. Mixed with carnations, and we'll need some heather for independence, of course. Magnolias, but only a few, and then rosebuds, but only on the edges."

"Alright," Emma murmured, writing the order down. "This for a party?"

"Yes," Jade said. "Now, Rhea, Astoria, you two stay here and wait for the flowers."

"There's a lovely coffee shop across the road," Emma offered. "The flowers might take a while."

"Fine," Jade said, handing over the money Hermione had counted for her. She gave the other half to Rhea, along with a couple extra to buy a snack. "Hermione, let's go. Astoria, behave."

"Your sister?" was the last thing Hermione heard as Jade dragged her out of the shop.

"Alright, there are three different dress shops on this street," Jade said. "We just need to find you a dress and we can get it resized."

Hermione nodded. "Should we start with this one?"

Jade looked at the store and curled her lip. "It'll have to do."

Shopping with Jade might have been worse than shopping with Daphne and Tracey, if Hermione hadn't desperately needed a dress. Jade had a negative comment for each dress, most meriting one or two words.

"No. Absolutely not. Terrible color. It's wrinkled. Washes out your skin."

Hermione sighed and tried on the next dress, a light blue dress with ruffles on the bottom. "This one?"

"Not your color," Jade said dismissively. "Next."

"Which one?" Hermione asked.

"The one across the street," Jade said, getting up and slinging her purse over her shoulder. "Come on, Hermione."

Hermione smiled apologetically at the saleswomen and followed Jade out the door. "You could've said thank you."

"Those dresses look like Astoria made them," Jade said bluntly. "And Astoria will never have a career as a fashion designer. This shop looks...slightly better."

Hermione went to the purple rack immediately, picking out a few dresses she thought looked nice. The first dress, dark purple with sequins, was promptly vetoed. The second, which was covered in sparkles, was also given a firm "no".

"How about this one?" Hermione asked, coming out of the dressing room and spinning around.

Jade studied her critically. The dress had a ruched bodice and an organza skirt, both in a lovely purple color. Jeweled adorned the small straps, as well as being the front of a belt created with dark purple silk. Hermione twirled again, feeling like a princess.

"Very pretty," Jade admitted, nodding approvingly. "And it fits nicely. We'll take it."

Hermione beamed. "Where to next?"

"Rhea is best with hair charms, so we'll go to a makeup person, as you call it, before returning to the Manor," Jade said. "Everyone is going to meet us at the salon, so we'll all get done there."

Hermione nodded, curious as to the purebloods' reactions at a muggle salon. "What time is it?"

"Showtime, Hermione," Jade said with a grin. "But 2 o'clock. We have some time."

"Let's go, then," Hermione said, accepting the bag a cashier held out to her. "Time's ticking."


	18. January 3, 1992 PART TWO

January 3, 1992

The clock had just chimed 5 when Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, Jade, Rhea and Julianne gathered in Hermione's grandmother's cottage.

"Okay, report," Jade ordered immediately.

"The decorations are all up, and the gazebo is decorated as well," Julianne said.

"We added the flower baskets," Astoria chimed in.

"And everyone is dressed and ready with an hour to spare," Jade said triumphantly. Hermione looked around at her friends. Jade was right. The three Greengrasses were dressed in various shades of blue, with Julianne and Rhea wearing red and pink, respectively. She herself was dressed in the purple dress, the layers twirling whenever she spun around. Rhea had both straightened and curled her hair, the end result being loose curls flowing down her back. Hermione grinned inwardly as she remembered the salon trip - Astoria had scared two of the employees with her shrieking. Once she had calmed down, however, all six girls had gotten makeup that looked natural and simply enhanced their features. Of course, the older girls had promptly bought half of the shop's products, and Daphne and Hermione pretended they had no idea about makeup either.

"Time to go outside," Rhea said gently. Hermione blinked. Had she really been daydreaming for forty-five minutes?

~ Slytherin ~

The beach itself hadn't changed much. Julianne had set up these gorgeous floating lanterns, and they hovered above the girls as they eagerly scrambled to the boardwalk. Flower-decorated streamers were twisted over the railings, leading to a large gazebo. Julianne had charmed everything to be dirt-resistant, and so the gazebo was sparkling clean without a crumb of sand in sight. Streamers and flowers adorned the sides and ceiling, and wicker baskets of elaborately arranged flowers were hung from metal hooks. Small tables holding drinks and appetizers were clustered in the middle.

"This is gorgeous," Hermione breathed.

"Hermione, this is lovely," Charlotte exclaimed, rushing towards the younger girl. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help, but it seems you girls had it all covered."

"We sure did," Jade said smugly. "Hermione, I'm going to go start greeting guests. You can either stay or come with me."

"I'll go," Hermione answered.

As they walked across the boardwalk, Jade explained how the guests would arrive. "We hooked up a small shack with a portable floo. People can arrive there and walk to the gazebo, or just hang out on the boardwalk."

Hermione nodded, noticing the waiters who were walking around, carrying appetizers. "Everything looks great. Thank you so much," she said earnestly.

"Hermione," Jade said seriously, stopping her. "You are going to do great things one day. And this? This is just the beginning."

"You really think so?" Hermione asked, biting her lip.

"I know so," Jade corrected. "You've been interested in a certain book I lent you, right?" Hermione nodded. "Going on the assumption that you've been doing some research of your own, do you understand- Ahh, Lord and Lady Malfoy!"

Hermione looked around, puzzled for a second before she realized that the Malfoys were approaching her. "Welcome," she offered. "Thank you for coming."

"The pleasure was all ours," Lucius Malfoy said smoothly, dipping his head a little. "Miss Greengrass."

"Lord Malfoy," Jade said promptly. "Might I formally introduce you to Miss Hermione Granger?"

"Lovely to meet you," Narcissa smiled slightly. "Have you met my son Draco?"

Hermione nodded, realizing what Narcissa hadn't said. By mentioning that Draco was her son, she had associated "Draco" with "Malfoy" and "power". And asking if the pair had met allowed Hermione to feel as if she was giving out information, when in reality Narcissa likely knew every detail of Draco and Hermione's conversations. "We've spoken occasionally," she answered.

"Thank you for inviting us, Granger," Draco said, giving her a small bow as was appropriate.

Hermione curtseyed back. "Please, call me Hermione."

"Are your parents here tonight?" Narcissa asked innocently. "I would love to meet them."

"Unfortunately, they are not," Hermione said apologetically. "They had an important meeting that couldn't be missed."

"I would love to meet them sometime," Narcissa pressed.

Hermione gave her a fake smile. "Of course. When they get back from America, I'll have to arrange something." She paused and tilted her head to the side. "They're very busy, though, so it might have to wait until the holidays. Perhaps a shopping expedition in Paris? We typically fly there for spring break."

"I look forwards to it," Narcissa said with a tight-lipped smile.

Hermione turned to Jade as the Malfoys left. "Did that go well?" she asked nervously.

"Oh, great," Jade said casually. "Except for the part where you promised to have Narcissa Malfoy meet your _muggle parents_."

Hermione winced. "I'll worry about that later," she said, waving her hand in the air. "Come on, we're at a party! Let's have fun!"

Jade sighed. "You have a lot to learn, young Hermione," she said, but allowed Hermione to go and join the kids her age, who were hanging by the food tables.

~ Slytherin ~

"Hermione!" Tracey squealed. "This party is awesome!"

"Thank you," Hermione grinned back.

"Nice going, Granger," Blaise nodded at her.

"It's nothing compared to what mine will be, of course," Pansy said haughtily.

"Lighten up, Parkinson," Blaise said easily. "Come on, Hermione, let's dance."

Hermione blushed. "Sure."

Hermione let Blaise pull her out to the boardwalk, where music was playing from invisible speakers. Blaise led her to where the wooden floor opened up, and spun her around a few times.

"This is so much cooler than being stuck at home!" Daphne whispered to her when the girls were next to each other. Hermione only had time to smile back before Theo Nott, who Daphne was dancing with, twirled her away.

Hermione turned back to Blaise and pulled him a little closer, enjoying dancing with her handsome Italian friend. Around her were Daphne and Tracey, who had quickly become two of her closest friends, along with many of her Hogwarts classmates. Jade and Rhea were dancing with twin boys Hermione knew were in their seventh year, while Julianne was talking quietly with a fairly cute Ravenclaw. Everyone who had welcomed her to the Wizarding world was with her now, and Hermione beamed happily, wishing that every night could be as magical as this one was.


	19. February 7, 1992

February 7, 1991

Classes resumed, and Hermione threw herself into her work. She tore through essays daily, spending most of her time tucked away in a dark corner of the library. Daphne and Tracey joined her occasionally, but for the most part, Hermione worked alone.

Of course, she still met with her study group each week, but Hermione made sure that the few hours she spent away from her books didn't stop her from getting perfect scores in class. Her potions club was still growing strong. Weasley had quit after the first week, which turned out to be a good thing as Draco Malfoy showed up the next Sunday. Potter was content to work by himself and ignore the blonde Slytherin, so Sundays in the potions lab passed peacefully. There was one incident when Neville Longbottom had exploded three cauldrons and sent two people to the hospital wing, but his confidence was slowly growing each week.

"Good morning," Hermione called to her dormmates as she got out of bed.

"Morning," Pansy nodded back, the brunette awake early for once.

"What are you doing awake?" Hermione yawned as the pair made their way into the bathroom.

"My owl decided to come early and wake me up," Pansy replied. "Magnolia brought the Valentine's cards I ordered last week."

Hermione frowned. "Valentines'?"

"Do muggles not have Valentines' Day?" Pansy asked.

Hermione studied the other girl. She seemed genuinely curious, so Hermione responded with a nod. "We do. I just didn't expect witches and wizards to celebrate it. You don't celebrate Christmas or Halloween so..." she trailed off.

"It's more modern," Pansy admitted. "We just give cards or small gifts to friends and lovers. We don't really go all out."

"Interesting," Hermione murmured, sticking her toothbrush back into its holder. "Should I get people cards?"

"If you want," Pansy shrugged. She dropped her towel on the counter and disappeared into the main dorm room.

Hermione stared thoughtfully after Pansy. While she could be stuck up at times, the brunette could be nice and funny. Hermione especially liked her snarky tone that appeared when Gryffindors were around. At this point, she wouldn't have any reason to lie to Hermione about Valentines' Day.

Hermione hurried back to her bed and pulled out the letter to her parents she had just finished writing last night.

_PS: Can you please buy me some heart shaped chocolate, and a few nicer ones too? Apparently they celebrate Valentines' Day here._

Back at home, the Grangers would put up a heart or two, but in general the family steered clear of the glitter pink and red decorations found around town. Would wizarding decorations be different?

~ Slytherin ~

"Blaise," Hermione began at breakfast, sitting across from the Italian, "do wizards celebrate Valentines' Day?"

Blaise looked up from his eggs and toast, surprised. "Some do. Why do you ask?"

"Pansy mentioned something about cards," Hermione said, taking a bite of her potatoes.

Blaise nodded knowingly. "Most people will probably get small cards or trinkets for their friends, at our age. When you get older, though, it's considered a day of love and you follow the courting rules."

"Courting rules?" Hermione repeated.

"Dating, courting," Blaise said dismissively. "You'll see a bunch of Slytherins do it. Depending on the seriousness of the relationship, you give different types of flowers. Those in a new relationship will give carnations, and there will be a lot of tulips and roses to declare your love. The number will also matter. Most people will arrange one of the Twelve Dates for Valentines' Day,"

"Twelve Dates?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Courting ritual," Blaise waved her question off. "But to answer your question, you can give your close friends a little something if you'd like. The nicer it is, the closer your relationship is."

Hermione considered his words. "Are you going to do that?"

"Yes," Blaise nodded. "Mother is sending me a few things."

"Okay, thanks Blaise," Hermione said absently, getting up from the table.

Blaise had more or less confirmed what Pansy had said. Hermione walked to the owlry and sent her letter, hoping that her parents would respond soon. She should probably make a few cards instead. Maybe she would ask Jade about what the different flowers and cards mean.

From what she'd picked up, Daphne and Tracey would get nice cards, as well as Jade, who's been practically mentoring her since she started Hogwarts. Blaise would also get a nice card, as one of her close friends. It was definitely not because she found him cute and enjoyed dancing with him at her party. Hermione had also become close with Padma and Susan, and she figured that the two girls would also receive a card from her. Hermione didn't know about Susan, but she did know that Padma and her sister Parvati celebrated Samhain over Halloween. Would they follow the traditional Valentines' Day as well, or would they more interested in the candy and glitter that Dumbledore apparently allowed every year? Rumors had been flying about what Dumbledore had planned for this Valentines' Day, but if it was a serious day of love as Blaise had said, where did pop songs and fast-paced dances fit into the equation?


	20. February 14, 1992

February 14, 1991

Hermione woke up on February 14th both excited for and dreading the day. She got dressed in her school robes, shook Daphne and Tracey awake, and headed down to the common room.

"Good morning, Hermione," Jade's cool voice shook the last lingerings of sleep from the brunette.

"Morning, Jade," Hermione smiled lightly. "Happy Valentines' Day."

Jade scoffed. "I don't celebrate."

"Why not?" Hermione asked. She stepped away from the stairs and fidgeting slightly.

"Because all boys can go to hell," Jade declared, before sweeping out of the common room.

"Her boyfriend dumped her last week," Rhea said sympathetically, getting up from the chair she was sitting in. "Jade's very 'anti-guy' this week."

"Oh," Hermione said quietly. "What about you?"

"No one at the moment," Rhea shrugged. "But that's okay."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Is it bad that I got her something?"

"No, she'll snap out of it soon," Rhea said. "She's just a bit upset."

~ Slytherin ~

For an early morning, the Great Hall was surprisingly full. The elusive Gryffindors were nearly all present, and even the Ravenclaws had come out of their tower to await the morning mail. By eight o'clock, the other Slytherin first years had joined Hermione at the table.

As they munched on breakfast, the Slytherins tried to ignore the glittery tablecloths and colored sparkles that were seemingly falling into nowhere. Glitter coated the walls, second only to the cut out hearts. Even the teachers seemed annoyed, with Professor McGonagall roughly brushing glitter off of herself every couple of seconds.

After her conversation with Blaise last week, Hermione had researched the different meanings of flowers. She had then ordered a few roses from a shop near her house, and had her mother send them along with the chocolates.

"The owls are here!" Tracey gasped in excitement. The noise level rose as hundreds of students began eyeing the owls.

Daphne whistled quietly. "Look at Gemma."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. She turned to where the fifth year was blushing and holding a bouquet of red roses.

"When you're really serious about someone, you send them six roses," Daphne said quietly. "I'm surprised it wasn't nine though, I thought they were already engaged."

"Forever is a long time," Tracey pointed out. "Maybe they're just waiting."

Daphne shrugged just as an owl dropped a card besides her plate.

"Who's it from?" Tracey asked eagerly.

Daphne flushed. "Theo," she whispered. "Don't look at him!" she cried quietly as Tracey made to turn around.

"Aww, Hermione, thanks," Tracey smiled at her friend. She popped one of the chocolates into her mouth. "These are good."

"Isn't it a little too early for chocolate?" Hermione teased.

Tracey looked at her seriously. "It's never to early for chocolate."

"Yeah, like fancy Italian chocolate," Daphne said, her eyes wide as she stared at the box that had just landed by Hermione's plate. "That's got to be from Blaise."

Hermione's eyes widened as she took in the large gold box, taking in the recognizable logo of a well-known and very expensive chocolatier. "You got one too," she protested weakly, even though Daphne's and Tracey's weren't even half the size of hers.

"Did you send him something?" Tracey asked curiously.

"Maybe," Hermione mumbled. She was sure her face was bright red.

"Speak of the devil," Daphne murmured.

"Hello, ladies," Blaise grinned cockily as he slid into the seat next to Tracey. "Hermione."

Hermione flushed. "Morning. Hi. Blaise."

"I've never heard of a Godiva chocolate before," Blaise continued, thankfully ignoring that she couldn't speak a sentence around him. "Are they any good?"

Hermione cleared her throat. "Would I give them to you if they weren't any good?" she challenged the Italian.

"Only the best for Hermione," Blaise said, amused. "Do you have a favorite?"

"Raspberry," Hermione mumbled, her momentary burst of confidence lost.

Blaise smirked at her, before swinging his legs over the bench and standing up. "I'll see you in class, Hermione."

Tracey squealed the moment Blaise was out of earshot. "He totally likes you."

"I can't even talk to him," Hermione moaned, banging her head on the table.

"Hermione, you got something else," Daphne said suddenly. Amid the cards and sweets from herself and Tracey lay two intertwined roses.

"What do pink and lavender mean?" Hermione asked. She racked her brain but she couldn't remember what the two flowers together meant.

"It means you've got a secret admirer," Tracey said in a hushed voice. "Who could it be?"

"Blaise?" Daphne offered.

Hermione shook her head. "Blaise doesn't like me. He flirts with everyone."

"True," Daphne agreed. "But he got you those chocolates."

"Because we're friends," Hermione argued. "Plus, he got me the chocolates, so why would he get me roses?"

"Well that's why it's a secret crush," Tracey said knowingly. 'Because it's a secret."

Hermione shook her head. "I guess we'll never know."

"But-"

"I have studying to do," Hermione said, interrupting her friend. "Exams are in four months and I want to finish the Transfiguration paper due next week."

"Didn't you do that last week?" Daphne questioned.

"Either way," Hermione said loudly. "I'm going to the library before class starts."

"Class starts in twenty minutes," Tracey said.

"Then I'll go for twenty minutes," Hermione said determinedly, striding out of the hall. Instead of going to the library, however, Hermione sat down in a small alcove and sorted through the rest of her cards.

Daphne and Tracey had each sent her a card and a few chocolates, as well as Jade and Rhea. Hermione had sent each of the older two girls a peach rose and some chocolates, meant to symbolize her thanks for all the help they had given her. Pansy had sent a card, while Millie had gifted her a few chocolates. Padma had sent her a yellow rose, the symbol for friendship. And lastly, Blaise had given her an enormous box of chocolates. Seated against the window, Hermione opened the box and plucked out a chocolate drizzled with a red cream. She bit into the chocolate and moaned as her mouth exploded in a taste of chocolate and strawberry. She could wonder about the roses later. Much, much later, after she finished eating all 49 chocolates.


	21. March 20, 1992

March 20, 1991

After Valentines' Day, the rest of February passed in a blur. Hermione attended a Quidditch game with Daphne and Tracey, although it didn't last long as Harry Potter caught the snitch within the first few minutes. Strangely enough, it was Professor Snape who had been refereeing, not Madam Hooch. Draco Malfoy had of course spent the entire night proclaiming that he could do a better job, and Hermione sulked a little when she realized that her plan to befriend Harry and Draco would need more work than she thought.

Things with Blaise were still a little awkward, as the two didn't really know how to behave around each other anymore. Hermione blushed every time he grinned or smirked at her, and nearly every time she looked up from her books in the library, she could feel a pair of dark eyes watching her.

On the other hand, Hermione, Daphne and Tracey had grown even closer. It turned out that planning a party together could really bond people, and the trio spent a lot of their time with Jade and Rhea, learning advanced spells and makeup tips. Hermione had showed the older girls a makeup catalog, and they had immediately set out to perfect their looks.

"Top three things to do this summer. Go," Tracey said, swinging her legs in the air as she lay on her bed.

"Visit Paris," Hermione said slowly. "Um, work in my Aunt Amaya's shop, and see you guys, obviously."

"I want to go to Italy," Daphne chimed in. "But Astoria wants to visit America for some reason."

"Probably because you don't speak Italian," Tracey snickered lightly.

"Well that's what Blaise is for," Daphne huffed. "He said that if we go, he'll show us around. He offered to let us stay with him, but Mother prefers staying at hotels."

"You should go, Hermione," Tracey said slyly.

"I don't like Blaise!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I never said anything about liking Blaise," Tracey shot back.

"Can we please study for finals?" Hermione pleaded.

Daphne gave her an incredulous look. "It's March, Hermione."

"So?"

"The Spring Equinox is tomorrow," Daphne said suddenly, changing the topic.

"Is it like Easter?" Hermione frowned.

"Kind of," Daphne said hesitantly. "We don't celebrate all the spring holidays, especially since we're young, but people do leave out flowers and wear pale colors. You eat lightly, too."

"There's another holiday in May, right?" Hermione asked.

"Beltane," Daphne confirmed. She blushed deeply. "There's a maypole dance for young girls and a bonfire, but that's all that we're allowed to participate in. It's a bit of an...adult holiday."

"Oh," Hermione said, wondering if her face was as red as Daphne and Tracey's.

So it seemed that witches and wizards were pagan. They followed the eight Wiccan holidays, but more recently wizards were turning to holidays such as Christmas and Halloween. Was that what blood prejudice was all about? That witches and wizards were upset because muggleborns came into _their_ society and tried to get people to celebrate _their_ holidays? Dumbledore certainly wasn't making it any easier for the purebloods to disagree. Instead of celebrating the pagan holidays, he's encouraging the modern ones. This could be what's making purebloods hate muggleborns.

If the proper wizarding holidays were encouraged, muggleborns might even participate and learn to fit in with wizarding society better. Hermione tried, but she knew that there were other muggleborns who completely disregarded all the society rules. If given the chance, would they embrace wizarding holidays? All Dumbledore seemed to be doing was driving a wedge between the two groups. For a big believer in fairness, he certainly seemed to be favoring the muggleborns.

"Hermione," Tracey called, bringing the brunette out of her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

"Is Dumbledore responsible for blood prejudice?" Hermione asked carefully.

Daphne and Tracey exchanged a look. "It's a big debate," Daphne admitted after a minute. "People say that it's due to the last wizarding war, others say it started with Grindelwald. My parents think that there wouldn't be a problem if the muggleborns tried to learn our culture."

"But they don't," Hermione said slowly. "Which is Dumbledore's fault."

Daphne shrugged helplessly. "The elves try to help, but we can't do much as first years."

"But this can't go on," Hermione insisted. "It's not right. We're witches and wizards, and Dumbledore is trying to change our ways. It's like going to France and telling them they have to act like Americans. You wouldn't do it."

"Some people don't even know we follow the Old Ways," Tracey said quietly. "They just believe whatever Dumbledore puts out."

"That's why Harry was so surprised," Hermione realized. "At Samhain. He grew up muggle."

"And with a Weasley as his best friend, he's probably been hearing that Dumbledore is a great man who can do no wrong," Daphne said sarcastically.

"It didn't help that Dumbledore is willing to break the rules for Potter," Tracey added.

"So we just have to get him to realize that Dumbledore is wrong. Let him know that there is a wizarding culture," Hermione said. "Harry just wants to fit in."

"And how exactly do we do that?" Tracey asked skeptically. "Remember, Potter hates Malfoy and doesn't think very highly of us."

"Well," Hermione said slowly, "I'm pretty sure he likes me better than his muggle relatives. I've heard him talking to Weasley."

"And his clothes are terrible," Daphne chimed in. "He's either wearing school robes or rags."

"If we get Potter, we get pretty much everyone on our side," Tracey said excitedly.

"So we start planning Project Potter," Hermione said, determined.

"What exactly is Project Potter?" Daphne asked, making quotation marks around the last two words.

"Well, we're going to start by getting him out of the house during the summer," Hermione said. "He lives in Surrey, which is near London, where I live. London is also where my Aunt's shop is."

"And if Potter gets a job there, he'll be seeing you a lot," Daphne caught on quickly.

"Exactly," Hermione said, pleased. "But that's just Part A. And you both know I don't do things by halves."

The three girls smirked at each other and leaned closer as their plan began to fo


	22. April 30, 1992

April 30, 1991

Over the next few weeks, Project Potter began to slowly form, but it was eclipsed slightly by the upcoming end of year tests. Hermione had begun spending every free second in the library, poring over textbooks and frantically copying everything she deemed important.

"Hermione," Tracey said in a sing-song voice. "Hermione."

"I'm studying, come back later," Hermione said distractedly, her eyes scanning a Transfiguration book.

"Hermione," Tracey repeated, slightly more urgently. "It's nine o'clock."

Hermione finally looked up from her book. "So? The library doesn't close until nine thirty."

Tracey gave her an incredulous look. "Hermione, it's Beltane tonight."

"No, no," Hermione chanted, shaking her head. "It's still April. There's about a week left to go."

"It's April thirtieth," Tracey insisted.

"But I haven't prepared!" Hermione exclaimed, horrified. "I didn't read up on Beltane! I don't know what to do!"

Tracey shook her head at her friend. "It's alright. You just need to show up and the older girls will help. Now come on, we're gathering in the dorm."

Slightly panicking, Hermione quickly shelved her books and followed Tracey back to the dorms. Daphne, Pansy and Millie were gathered in the middle of the room, waving their wands in elaborate flourishes at a basket lying on the floor.

"Orchideous coronam!" Daphne cried as Hermione and Tracey entered, flicking her wand at the basket. A bunch of flowers burst from the tip of her wand and formed into the shape of a crown, which lay in the air for a few seconds before falling lightly into the basket.

"Nice one," Pansy said appreciatively.

"Are you guys making flower crowns?" Hermione asked curiously. She dumped her bag on her bed before joining the other girls in their circle.

"Uh-huh," Millie nodded. "I haven't been able to do it so far, and Daphne and Pansy have only been able to do one flower each, though."

"Can I try?" Hermione asked. She rolled up the sleeves of her robe and pointed her wand at the basket. "Orchideous coronam!" she cried, watching proudly as a perfect crown made of brightly colored flowers formed in mid-air.

"How did you get the different flowers?" Daphne gasped. "And colors?"

Hermione shrugged. "I just visualized them in my mind."

"Orchideous coronam!" Tracey tried, but only yellow flowers appeared. "I'm still stuck with buttercups."

"Well at least you got something better than pansies," Pansy grumbled, brandishing her wand and trying the spell again. "See?"

Hermione flicked her wand again, smiling as the multi-colored flowers appeared. She let herself forget about the upcoming exams as she prepared for Beltane, a luxury she hadn't even realized she needed.

~ Slytherin ~

As eleven and twelve year olds, they were only allowed to participate in the beginning of the Beltane celebrations. The younger girls, all wearing flower crowns, danced around a decorated maypole. Some of the older girls joined them, but Hermione couldn't find Jade or Rhea in all the commotion. She did see Julianne, though, who danced a little before joining some older girls. But after the dance, Hermione, along with the other girls in her year, was sent to bed.

"I can't wait until we're old enough to celebrate properly," Tracey sighed, flopping on her bed.

"Why would you want do?" Millie wondered aloud, wrinkling her nose a little. "My cousin told me there's a lot of blood and scary things happening. I don't want to do that."

"Your cousin was probably lying to you," Pansy informed her haughtily. "My mum told me that there's something special and secret that boys and girls do."

"Like rituals?" Millie asked hesitantly.

"Something like that," Pansy said smugly, clearly pleased that she knew something Millie didn't.

"My mum said that it's just a big sleepover," Daphne chimed in. "Only instead of just girls, there are boys also."

Hermione kept quiet. Before leaving for Hogwarts, her mum had sat her down and given her The Talk, and she had a pretty good idea of what the older students would be doing that night. It seemed as if none of her classmates knew about it though, and she didn't want to be the one to have that awkward conversation

with them.

"Has anyone done the Potions homework yet?" she asked, interrupting the conversation. The girls stopped trying to guess as to the older kids' activities.

"Hermione, Snape just assigned that today," Daphne said, rolling her eyes lightly. "No one besides you has even started it."

"Draco has," Pansy chimed in. "I saw him working on it downstairs earlier."

"Ooh," Tracey teased. "Pansy and Dray-co."

Pansy blushed. "We just hang out sometimes!" she protested.

It was true. The Slytherin first years had split into two groups, and the two mainly ignored each other outside of the dorm room and meals. Hermione, Daphne and Tracey had formed an instant connection, with Blaise joining them most of the time. Draco, Pansy, Millie, Crabbe and Goyle were the other group, with shy Theo Nott either joining Hermione and her friends or sitting by himself. He would sit with Draco in classes with double desks, but for the most part, Theo preferred to be alone.

Double desk classes were a bit tricky, as they had to find a seating arrangement that everyone would be happy with. Daphne and Tracey had immediately paired up, as had Millie and Pansy. Hermione hadn't wanted to sit next to either Crabbe or Goyle, and after a couple days of sitting with Theo, had switched to a permanent seat next to Blaise. Draco, after pouting over the seating change, had grudgingly sat next to the quiet boy, leaving Crabbe and Goyle to blunder their way through the classes together.

The seating worked well, especially during History. Hermione and Theo were the only two to pay attention in Binns' class, and when he wasn't teasing Hermione or drawing her small pictures, Blaise would chat quietly with Draco or take a nap on the desk. Crabbe and Goyle dozed off one minute they entered, and the other four girls shared fashion magazines and gossiped.

And for the first time in a long while, Hermione felt that she belonged.


	23. May 29, 1992

May 29th, 1992

Hermione woke up the morning of the 29th and stumbled out of bed. She groggily cast a tempus charm, glanced at her sleeping roommates while she waited, and then screamed loudly. "Wake up!" she cried. "Wake up! We're late!"

The effect was instantaneous. Daphne jumped out from under her covers and stood on her bed in a dueling position, wiping her eyes with one hand and holding an invisible wand in another. Tracey slammed the pillow over her face, and Millie rolled over and fell off the bed.

"What in Merlin's name are you going on about, Granger?" Pansy mumbled, the one one who hadn't stirred.

"Exams!" a horrified Hermione exclaimed. "We overslept! They start in 20 minutes!"

Tracey cursed loudly, before throwing the covers off of herself. "Shot bathroom first!" she yelled, dashing across the room.

"There are two sinks," Daphne cried, running after her friend. Hermione ran to her trunk and pulled out her uniform, hastily throwing it on and running a brush through her hair.

"How did we sleep late?" she asked herself. "Who set the alarm?" she called out loud.

"Pansy!" Millie's voice yelled.

"Daphne did it!" Tracey called.

"It was Millie!" Daphne replied.

"I thought you were doing it," Pansy said.

Hermione groaned. "Whoever's in the bathroom, hurry up!"

19 minutes later, the girls stumbled into the Great Hall together, collapsing into seats at the Slytherin table. Hermione snagged a piece of toast off of Blaise's plate, taking a bite just as the food disappeared.

"Hey, I was eating that," Blaise complained, although his eyes were twinkling with amusement.

"Shut up," Hermione murmured, her eyes half closed. "Which exam do we have first today?"

"Charms," Blaise informed her.

Hermione nodded and snagged Blaise's coffee cup.

~ Slytherin ~

"So I think exams went well, I mean Charms was pretty easy, although I'm not sure about question 17, it was the one about alohomora, and the practical went pretty well too," Hermione chattered that afternoon. "Potions wasn't too bad either, I'm sure I got at least an E. A bunch of the later questions were a bit tricky, you know, the ones after the Horned Slug question? And the practical yesterday was good, too. My potion was pretty blue."

Tracey groaned loudly. "Hermione. Stop talking about exams."

Hermione stopped talking and looked around at her friends, who were sitting scattered on the grass. "Doesn't anyone want to discuss the exams?"

"Not really," Millie said hesitantly.

"Hermione, we're done," Blaise said gently. "There's no need to re-hash every exam. We can't change anything."

"All it does it make people more stressed," Pansy said impatiently from where she was sitting next to Draco. "Besides, no one cares about exams anymore. Let's do something fun."

Hermione turned away, hurt. "I'm going to go to the library," she said quietly, getting up and running back inside. She made it to the first floor bathroom before bursting into tears.

This was just another reminder that she didn't really belong in the magical world. At her old school, the teachers would go over each exam and discuss every question, and her parents would dutifully listen to Hermione's re-telling of each and every second. Why didn't anyone want to discuss the exams here? Surely they would want to compare how they did. Wouldn't it help if they knew that others had the same answers as them? And Pansy...Hermione wasn't why she was so upset at her words. She knew that Pansy could be mean, although she had backed off of Hermione and turned her glares towards the Gryffindors. They had become friends, Hermione had thought.

"Hey," a voice said, knocking on the bathroom stall door. "You okay?" Hermione stayed silent. "I know someone's in there, I can hear you," the voice said gently. "Do you want to talk?"

"No," Hermione whispered, tugging her knees up to her chest.

"It's going to be okay," the girl continued. "Whatever it is, it'll end up working out."

"Really?" Hermione asked hesitantly. "How do you know?"

"You don't," the girl said. Hermione could almost hear the shrug in her voice. "I can't really say anything for sure, but these things always have a way of working out. Whether it's over exams, friend problems, boys..." the girl listed, "it'll end up resolving itself in a few days."

"Okay," Hermione said softly.

"I've got another exam in a few minutes, will you be okay?" the girl asked.

"Yeah," Hermione whispered.

"Have a nice summer," the girl said. Hermione heard a small thud, before the receding sound of footsteps echoed throughout the room.

Hermione slowly unlocked the stall door and pushed it open, frowning when she was met with some resistance. Pushing the door as far as it would go, Hermione slipped out and scanned the room, her eyes meeting a small pink and gold box on the floor. She opened the box to reveal a couple of brightly wrapped sweets. Hermione recognized them as a popular taffy brand that Daphne and Tracey liked.

She hurriedly stepped towards the door, but the older girl who had helped her was gone. Hermione sank down onto the floor, clutching the box of taffies in her hand. Who could the girl be? Was she a Slytherin? Maybe a Hufflepuff, who were known for being kind to everyone. At least she knew it was a girl. That ruled out half the school.

Although, Hermione supposed that she would never know unless the girl decided to reveal herself. That was assuming she had recognized Hermione's voice. Hermione hadn't recognized hers, so that meant that it wasn't Rhea or Jade or any other of the older Slytherin girls she knew.

Hermione stood up from the floor and brushed herself off, checking her appearance in the mirror when she was done. She blotted her eyes in the mirror and twisted a strand of hair back, taking care to look as if nothing had upset her. When she was finished, she hurried to the Great Hall for dinner, meeting up with Daphne and Tracey right before they entered.


	24. June 8, 1992

June 8, 1992

Hermione entered the Great Hall at dinner, a large grin on her face. Next to her, Tracey was skipping happily.

"We won, we won," she sang happily, bouncing with each step.

"I'm pretty sure Hermione won," Daphne said, raising an eyebrow. "She's gotten more points for us than anyone else."

"It was a group effort," Hermione said modestly.

The trio sat down at the Slytherin table, Hermione next to Blaise and the two girls opposite her.

"Good evening, ladies," Blaise greeted them, his hands busy with an origami bird.

"Where'd you get that?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Draco made it," Blaise explained, the blonde boy flushing at his words.

"Mother taught me a few summers ago," Draco explained.

The last Slytherin slid into place at the table only seconds before Dumbledore stood up, face beaming and arms open wide.

"Another year gone," Dumbledore declared. "And what a year it has been. Hopefully your heads are all a bit fuller than the beginning of the year, and if they are, do not worry, you have the whole summer to get them empty again. Now, as I understand it, the House cup needs awarding. In fourth place, Gryffindor, with 312 points, Hufflepuff, with 352, Ravenclaw has 426, and Slytherin, with 472."

The Slytherin table burst into cheers, everyone cheering and clapping loudly. Hermione grinned widely and clapped a little harder.

"Yes, yes, well done Slytherin," Dumbledore said. "But recent events must be taken into account."

"What's going on?" Hermione muttered to Blaise. He shrugged.

"Ahem. I have a few last minutes points to hand out," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "To Mr. Ronald Weasley - for the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years. I award Gryffindor house 50 points."

Hermione turned to her friends furiously. "What is he playing at?" she hissed.

"To Mr. Neville Longbottom. For exceptional knowledge in a time of distress, I award Gryffindor house 50 points."

"No, no, no," Tracey muttered under her breath. "He can't do this."

"To Mr. Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house 60 points."

"We're tied," Blaise said weakly. "He's not going to do this."

"He will," Hermione said grimly, nodding her head towards the Headmaster.

"And finally, to Mr. Dean Thomas and Mr. Seamus Finnegan. It takes courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more so to friends. I award you each five points. Which means," he called the last phrase over the screams of Gryffindor house, "we need a little change of decoration."

Hermione watched helplessly as the emerald green banners shifted to a dark red, the snake emblem shimmering away and a golden lion taking its place. "This can't be happening."

"Welcome to Slytherin," Blaise said quietly. Hermione looked around at her friends. Tracey looked about to cry on Daphne's shoulder, and both MIllie and Pansy had scowls on their faces.

"I'm not about to sit here and take this," Hermione declared. "Who's with me?"

Daphne nodded firmly. "This sucks. It really does. But what can we do about it?"

"I don't have to sit here and watch this," Hermione said, standing up from the table. Blaise joined her, and the pair headed towards the door, followed by the rest of the first years. For once, they were all united.

"Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore, still standing, called. "Where might you be going?"

"We're going to finish the feast in our common room," Draco Malfoy said loudly. "We're not feeling so well."

"We wouldn't want to disrupt the celebrations," Hermione said smoothly. "Who are we to deny Gryffindor of their hard-earned victory?"

"They must have worked very hard to earn points all year," Blaise agreed. "Must have answered a lot of questions..."

"Read ahead," Hermione added. "Probably did some extra credit as well."

"I'll bet they also had study groups each week, helping the younger years with their homework," Jade Greengrass called from the Slytherin table. She stood up and walked gracefully across the hall to stand with Hermione.

"Miss Greengrass," Dumbledore said angrily, "I'm afraid I'll have to-"

"Take points?" Jade asked innocently. "Please, go ahead. They don't count anyway."

Hermione glanced at the head table. Professor Snape was almost smiling, a look of pride on his face. Professor McGonagall looked shocked, while next to her, Professor Flitwick had a thoughtful expression. Professor Sprout was frowning on the tiny professor's other side.

"Detention, Miss Greengrass," the Headmaster began.

"When do we report for our detention?" Hermione called to the head table. "We leave Hogwarts tomorrow morning."

The Headmaster looked flustered. "Miss Granger, I believe-"

"I'd like to know the answer to that question," Rhea Rosier drawled, walking over to Jade. She was followed by a gaggle of older girls.

"Me too!" a fourth year boy called, standing up. The rest of Slytherin house got up from the table.

"You punish one of us, you punish us all," Hermione said firmly. "We're a house, a family."

Professor Snape stood up. "I'll handle this Headmaster. I have confiscated a number of items from students who deem it allowed to be able to eat in my class. I will have my Slytherins order and dispose of them."

"You know I've confiscated a couple of games as well," Professor Flitwick said suddenly. "Perhaps you might be interested in having the Slytherins order those as well."

"And if you need a location to hold all the Slytherins, there is a rather lovely spot behind the greenhouses," Professor Sprout offered.

Murmurs flittered through the hall, students turning to whisper to their friends.

"Silence!" the headmaster boomed. "Everyone will return to their seats and sit down immediately."

"No," Jade called up to the Head table.

"No," Hermione repeated firmly. Other Slytherins took up the call, the word 'no' being said across the hall.

"No," a tall handsome Hufflepuff said, standing up on the Hufflepuff bench. He walked over to the Slytherins. "Miss Greengrass, would you like an escort to your common room?"

"Thank you Diggory," Jade said, accepting the boy's arm. The two led the way out of the hall. The Slytherins all followed, and Hufflepuff got up and joined them. It seemed as if Diggory was a very popular boy, and seeing the empty tables, Ravenclaw, Slytherin's closest ally, left as well.

"Wait!" a voice called as Hermione neared the common room. She turned to see a panting Harry Potter running towards them. "Wait, please!"

"What do you want, Potter?" Draco sneered.

Harry winced. "I deserved that. Look, I told Professor Dumbledore that I didn't want the points. It wasn't fair what he did."

"He had all week to give you points," Hermione said slowly.

Harry nodded empathetically. "I told him no, Granger. You guys won the cup fair and square. You deserve it."

"Do the others agree?" Daphne cut in.

"Neville's still in the hall yelling at people," Harry said. "Dean, Seamus and the Weasley twins are helping him convince people. But...we don't want the cup. It's yours."

The Slytherins exchanged thoughtful looks. "And Weasley?"

"He thinks it's all good," Harry admitted. "But he's one person. If Neville, Dean, Seamus and I take our points away, we don't win."

"Thank you, Potter," Hermione said, taking the lead for the group. "We apricate this. We just wish it wasn't necessary."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry, again. I..I don't get why he did it."

"Perhaps that's something for you to think upon this summer," Hermione suggested.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Um. I'll see you next year?"

"See you next year, Potter," Hermione agreed.

The Slytherins all watched him leave, before Blaise let out an exaggerated breath.

"So, party in the common room?" he said, only half joking.

"Not yet," Hermione said determinedly. "I've got something to do first."

"What are you going to do?" Draco asked curiously.

Hermione gave him a smirk. "I'm going to be a Slytherin."


End file.
